


home

by seonho



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Domestic Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Lovers, who are also best friends, yangyang and hyuck are first graders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seonho/pseuds/seonho
Summary: Johnny goes on after a minute. “Still, I feel like if I ever got remarried, it’d have to be with someone in a similar situation. Someone who knows what it’s like and can be a bit more understanding”.At that, Kun can’t help but steal a glance at him, and the older is looking at the sun setting in the backyard with a peaceful expression on his face.Kun is absolutely enamored.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Nakamoto Yuta, Suh Youngho | Johnny/Qian Kun
Comments: 78
Kudos: 476
Collections: kuniversism





	home

**Author's Note:**

> because there's no such thing as 'too many' johnkun parents aus. 
> 
> to the prompter: thank you so much for this idea; it was great to write domestic fluff for the first time, and i'm sorry about not following everything down to the details. i finished this back in september-ish, and i can't stand looking at it anymore, but i hope you'll enjoy it anyway!
> 
> the title and the lyrics in the fic comes from gabrielle apin's [home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVbdjec0pA)  
>  **disclaimer:** i've never been to new york. the places i used here are more inspirations and might have no connection with reality.

_'Cause they say home_ _  
_ _Is where your heart is set in stone  
_ _Is where you go when you're alone  
_ _Is where you go to rest your bones_

Johnny, like most good things in Kun’s life, only comes around because of Yangyang. 

When the six year old approaches him, huge grin that has little care for the split on his top lip (acquired the previous day after running down the stairs for ice cream) and eyes that overwhelm with mischief, Kun is only half surprised to see that he's accompanied by another boy; while it's impressive that Yangyang managed to make quick friends on his first day at the new school, it's very predictable that it's with a boy who shares the expression of being ready for trouble. Similars attract each other, he figures. 

"Baba, look, this is Donghyuck, my new best friend" He announces brightly, because that's how easy it is when you're a first grader; friendships are decided, not necessarily cultivated.

The boy, Donghyuck, bows to a 90⁰, and Kun fights the incredible urge to coo -- this sort of politeness it's not something he's used to seeing in America, likely something the boy was thought by (Kun assumes) his Asian parents. It's adorable, especially paired with the smile and high pitched tone that appears right after. "Nice to meet you Mr. Qian!" 

Kun playfully bows back, getting a giggle out of Yangyang. "Nice to meet you too Donghyuck, I'm happy that Yangie already has a friend here." 

It's pick up time, and Kun is expecting Donghyuck to run off to his own parents after the introduction; when twenty seconds pass and the boys are still standing there, whispering and poking each other, he already has an idea that this introduction has ulterior motives to it. 

Eventually, Yangyang puts his best puppy eyes on and starts pleading. "Baba, Donghyuck has a new Nintendo Switch and he just got Super Smash Bros and he said I can come over today so we can play if you let me."

Kun furrows his brows, sighing. "I don't know, where do you live Donghyuck? Do your parents know about this?" 

Donghyuck doesn't even need the puppy eyes: he stares up at Kun with the confidence of someone who's sure he thought about everything. "I live on Corwin St and I talked to my dad and he said if it’s fine by you than it’s totally fine by him." 

Donghyuck rushes his words on a single breath, but Kun gathers the gist of it; if what he's saying it's true, then they live in the same neighborhood, meaning it’s probably walking distance from his house. It wouldn't be a huge deal for Kun to let Yangyang go over and then pick him up before dinner, in fact it might even leave him with the time and peace he needs to finally finish unpacking the three boxes left sitting in their living room for the last two weeks. 

Still, this isn't Kun first rodeo with children and their tendencies to edit the narrative in their favor, and so he asks what he immediately should. "Can I talk to your daddy then, Hyuck? Is he here yet?"

Donghyuck turns around immediately, like he’s expecting it, and starts flailing his arms around, trying to get someone’s attention. Kun follows his line of sight, and it takes less than a second to find who he assumes is Donghyuck’s dad. 

The man is tall. Now, Kun isn’t really one to trust on this, as his short legs make basically anyone tall to him, but this guy? He towers over anyone else standing in front of the school, and the woman talking to him has to crane her neck as she doesn’t even reach his chest. He’s dressed casually, jeans and brown jacket, and wearing stylish sunglasses (which Kun thinks makes him look a little bit douchey, but it _is_ very hot today, so he’ll cut some slack); once he finally notices his son trying to get his attention, the man seems to excuse himself from the conversation he was having and starts walking towards them. 

Once he’s close enough, Donghyuck takes off to grab at his legs and start catching him up. “This is Yangie’s dad and we asked if he could come over and he said he wanted to talk to you so please tell him to let Yangyang come over please.” 

Johnny doesn’t stop walking even as Donghyuck pleads and tugs at his pants, instead choosing to put on a huge (and extremely charming, Kun notes against his will) smile as he extends his hand for Kun to shake. “Hi, you must be Yangyang’s dad, nice to meet you. My name is Johnny, I’m the father of this little gremlin.”

Kun isn’t a petit man; he may be short, but he’s not small and dainty. Still, when he shakes Johnny’s hand, the man's palm completely engulf his, grip firm but not overwhelming, and he feels tiny. “Nice to meet you too, my name is Kun.” 

“You’re new here, right? Welcome to town!” Johnny offers brightly. 

“Thank you, yeah, we’ve moved two weeks ago. I’m glad Yangyang is already making friends though; Donghyuck tells me you guys live in Browncroft? On Corwin St?”

“We do! Do you guys live close by?” Johnny asks, pleasant. 

“One street over, actually, on Coniston St” Kun chuckles, and Johnny seems delighted by the information. 

“Wow, we’re practically neighbors then, this is great!” He beams in positivity, enough that it brings a more genuine and less nervous smile to Kun’s face. “I assume Hyuck already told you the two of them want to have a little play date today.”

“Dad!” Donghyuck whines, embarrassed. “It’s not a play date, we’re not toddlers!”

Johnny laughs then, an airy thing that makes his face scrunch up and his eyes become half moons; it’s absolutely adorable and completely out of place in a man of that size. “Sorry bud, not a play date then, a gathering of friends."

“They did tell me, yes” Kun chuckles a little too. “Are you sure it’s not a problem though? You know kids, they want to do everything right away, but we can schedule another day if it’s too sudden for you.”

Johnny immediately shakes his head. “No, no, it’s absolutely fine; I would be happy to have Yangyang over. I actually work from home today so it works out perfectly. I can even drop him off at yours later if you prefer”. 

“Oh, no, that’s alright!” Kun smiles at Johnny’s eagerness. “It’s close enough I can just walk over when it’s time to pick him up.” 

Yangyang and Donghyuck, who until now were watching the interaction in anticipation, pick this moment to make their presence remembered. Yangyang is jumping up and down as he asks, “Does that mean I can go?” 

Kun sighs, dramatic, but there’s a small smile on his face. “Yes, you can go.” The two boys scream, excited, and Kun has to raise his voice a little bit to be heard. “But I want you to behave! If I hear from Mr Johnny you were anything less than perfectly nice when I come pick you up, we’ll have a conversation.” 

Yangyang is almost cheeky as he signs his chest in a ‘cross my heart and hope to die’ gesture. “I promise, baba! Thank you thank you thank you I love you”. 

Yangyang hugs Kun’s leg, so the older pats his back and ruffles his hair affectionately. “Love you too, baobei”. 

When he looks up, Johnny’s watching at them with a soft smile, before he looks down at Yangyang. “Ready to go, kiddo?” 

Kun barely has time to take his son’s Minecraft bag from his back before he and Donghyuck are already running off, to what Kun assumes is Johnny’s car. The man itself stays, fishing off his phone from his pocket. 

“Can I get your number? I can key in mine in yours too” Johnny offers. Kun is quick to agree, and a minute later, they have exchanged contact information. 

“I pick him up at 6?” Kun asks, and Johnny nods. 

“That’s great” Johnny smiles brightly again, extending his hand for another handshake. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, neighbor, and I promise I’ll take care of your kid. I’ll see you later.”

Kun smiles back, and waves his hand a bit after the shake. “See you!”. 

Having the afternoon to himself for the first time in a while turns out to be even better than Kun anticipated. Not only he finishes unpacking those boxes, but he sweeps the floor peacefully without Yangyang’s little feet dragging dust everywhere, and even manages to get ahead on the class plan for the day after tomorrow. It’s still around 4:30pm when Kun is done, and he finds himself delighted he can put his feet up and watch at least two more episodes of How to Get Away with Murder before he needs to leave. 

Of course, there’s a significant part of his mind that’s constantly just a little bit worried about Yangyang being somewhere with a stranger, even if Kun tends to be more lax with these things; however, Johnny has texted him a few pictures of Donghyuck and Yangyang sprawled on the floor, all their attention on playing video games. He also asked if Yangyang had any allergies, and upon Kun’s assurance that Yangyang could probably eat a rock and end up fine, the other man sent a picture of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he made for the two. It was sweet, really, of Johnny to keep Kun constantly updated, and it eased the parent’s mind enough that he could focus on Annalise Keating’s newest drama. 

15 minutes before it hits 6, Kun figures he should probably take a shower before going over; he’s new to town after all, and it can’t hurt to make a good impression on a nice ( _and hot_ , his traitorous mind provides) neighbor. It’s also nice to take a long, calm shower in the middle of the day, something surprisingly hard to do when you have a kid like Yangyang: it’s dangerous for Kun to leave the elementary schooler alone for 20 minutes, completely unsupervised to run around their house (as exemplified by the time Yangyang almost dropped their flat screen by kicking the stand practicing “taekwondo”, or the time he decided to take upon himself to start a slime factory on their kitchen), so the father usually rushes his showers, or rather takes them after the six year old is already asleep. 

Fresh off the bathroom and rather relaxed, Kun starts taking the short walk to Johnny’s house; honestly, even shorter than expected, as he gets to the house number he got texted earlier less than five minutes later. It’s a big house, bigger than Kun’s: the kind of house married couples buy to raise tons of children. Johnny didn’t mention Donghyuck having any siblings, but Kun wonders if it’s maybe it’s something planned for the future. 

He rings the doorbell, and it doesn’t take much effort to hear the sound of children in the house: if Kun thought Yangyang alone was loud, he clearly wasn’t ready to see him paired up with Donghyuck, their shouting and whining distinguishable even from the doorstep. Suddenly a new voice appears, words muffled, and the kids stop shouting. A few seconds later, the door swings open. 

If Kun thought Johnny to be attractive from the get go, with his stylish clothes and pretentious sunglasses, he clearly wasn’t expecting how good the man would look with casual clothes, comfortable in his own house. His hair is still a little bit damp from a freshly taken shower, and even if all he’s wearing are sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt with a dishcloth hanging from his shoulder, his height and large built make it look effortlessly good, and in a weirdly domestic way, kind of sexy. Kun berates himself for the path his mind is wandering through, forcing to focus on the blinding smile the taller man is sending him. 

“Hey, you’re right on time, I’m cooking dinner.” He exclaims cheerfully. “You should stay and eat with us! The boys are still playing and we could talk for a bit.” 

Kun’s first instinct is to politely turn down the offer, immediately afraid to get in the way of Johnny’s routine, especially on a school night. He’s also a fairly introverted person, and it’s been a while since he’s had to make new friends; even if the short impression Johnny made so far is of someone who appears to be nothing short of a polite and kind, it still makes the chinese a little bit nervous to spend time alone with him. 

However, it takes one quick look further into the house and Kun can see Yangyang and Donghyuck glancing over the back of the couch, anxiously waiting for his answer as the game is paused on the TV. He remembers how just a few days ago he promised Ten over the phone he would make an effort to make new friends, considering his only one is all the way in Manhattan, and sighs. This seems to be a safe start. 

“Yeah, that would be great, if it’s not imposing.” Kun returns Johnny’s smile, a little bit shy. 

Johnny’s grin becomes even bigger, if that’s possible, and he waves his hand in dismissal. “Come on in, I’m making pasta.” 

The inside of Johnny’s house is even more impressive than the outside; Kun watches a lot of HGTV on his free time, and it looks a lot like a place made by the Property Brothers, with all the open concept and beautiful decoration. It might look like it came out of a magazine spread were it not for the small disorganization here and there, obviously sign of having a kid around, and most obviously the huge photography pieces adorning almost every wall.

Some of them are landscape pictures, not just from New York but all parts of the country, but most of them (and the most evident) are family pictures: Donghyuck’s baby hand holding a finger, Donghyuck smiling widely with his missing tooth at the beach, Donghyuck sleeping with his cheek smushed in someone’s shoulder. The pictures are beautifully taken and processed, and the way Kun can clearly see the love behind each and every one makes Kun wonder if they were taken by Johnny. 

Kun takes note of the fact that there’s no family pictures, no image of Donghyuck’s other parent anywhere around. Of course, there’s the possibility the pictures are somewhere else Kun isn’t seeing on first glance, but still -- he has been wondering why it appears it has just been Johnny and the kids in the house during the afternoon, and why it seems no one else is joining them tonight. 

The man himself notices that Kun is taking his time looking at one of the pictures. “Donghyuck thinks it’s super embarrassing, the amount of photos of him around here. There’s not much he can do though, having a photographer dad”. 

Kun chuckles, glancing at Johnny. “Johnny, they’re -- they’re incredible. I can practically feel your love just by looking at them”. 

“Oh, thank you, you’re very kind.” Johnny says with a humble smile, sheepishly scratching at his neck before he turns around to reach the kids, who’re already happily engaging in playing again. “See, Hyuck, Kun likes the pictures.”

“That’s because I’m beautiful, so it’s inevitable” Hyuck answers without looking away from the screen, and both Yangyang and Kun laugh loudly at the sassiness. Johnny takes the dishcloth and threatens to throw it at his son, mumbling something like “this brat”, but Kun can see the smile dancing at his lips. 

The kitchen is the open concept style of Kun's wet dreams, so even as Johnny takes his place to continue cooking, he can still glance over the island to keep an eye on what the kids are doing. “I hope you don’t mind some spice, I’m making One Pot Chicken Fajita”. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve had my fair share of spicy food living in China” Kun says with a laugh. “Never had this recipe though, I’m excited.” 

Johnny starts going on about how it’s sort of a family recipe, as in his mom taught him how to do it once he had to start cooking for himself and Donghyuck, all the while he’s already busying himself with cutting some stuff as he speaks. Kun just stands there in the kitchen for a bit, a bit unsure if he should sit down or not. Seeing as there’s a lot of ingredients waiting to be cut at Johnny’s side, Kun moves to the sink and washes his hands. 

Johnny notices it, halting a bit on what he was saying. “Oh, you don’t have to, Kun. You can just sit down and rest, I got it covered.” 

“Nonsense.” Kun shakes his head, throwing Johnny a smile. “I rested enough during the afternoon as you watched the kids, let me help by cutting a few things.” 

Johnny looks like he wants to disagree, but Kun is already done washing and drying his hands, looking at him expectantly. The taller man sighs, small smile, but he opens one of the drawers to get a knife. “I’ll let you off this time”. 

Kun laughs and says “thank you”, taking the knife and immediately standing by Johnny’s side to start chopping up some onion. It’s an oddily domestic scene, standing shoulder to shoulder and cooking together as Johnny goes on about his mother's cooking skills, and Kun has to physically stop himself from blushing at the thought, reminding himself he barely knows Johnny and it’s very inappropriate. 

Johnny is definitely a talker, but once they’re done chopping up stuff and Kun is officially dismissed from his cooking duty, he focuses on pouring the chicken stock, heavy cream, diced tomatoes, chiles and pasta to the pan, using a wooden spoon to mix and waiting until it’s at a boiling point. Once he closes it off in low heat to wait for it properly cook, he turns around to look at the chinese man with all of his attention; big and bright brown eyes staring at Kun with curiosity as the taller puts his elbows on the kitchen island Kun is sitting across at. “So, Kun, tell me about yourself. You said you lived in China? How did you end up at Brighton?” 

Kun awkwardly chuckles, a bit on the spot. “Well, I didn’t come here straight from China. I actually moved from there to New York for college, and lived there for many years”. 

“Oh, where did you go to?” Johnny questions, curious. 

“NYU, Chinese Language major” Kun answers proudly. “Actually did my masters there too.”

“Wooow” Johnny drags it out, a teasing smile at his face. “Fancy! You must be super smart.”

Kun shakes his head, smiling too. “I try. Where did you go to college? I assume you majored in Photography?.” 

“Not _at all_ ” Johnny laughs. “I went to IIT for Computer Science.” 

Kun raises his eyebrows, surprised. “Oh, but you work as a photographer now?”. 

“Yeah, but back then it was just a hobby. After I graduated I made my way to New York to work at a firm, but did odd jobs as a wedding photographer, especially for college friends. Turns out people really liked my work, and as I started getting booked more and more often I eventually managed to make it my full time job. I actually specialize in wedding photography right now.” Johnny explains, as he checks on the food. 

“Oh wow, that’s really cool actually.” Kun sounds legitimely impressed. “Why wedding photography though?” 

“It’s not… the most creative outlet photography can bring, I’ll admit. It’s repetitive, so I think people who major in very artistic focused photography programs kind of stir away from it or deal with it as a last option? I love it though, maybe _because_ I have no fancy major in photography.” Johnny chuckles. “I just think there’s something very pure about capturing people’s happiest moments of their life, and knowing those pictures will hold memories they’ll dearly hold on to for years, maybe for generations even after they’re dead.” 

Kun swoons a little bit at the answer, and tries his best not to let his smile be too enamored. “That’s very sweet. I wish I had a wedding photographer this passionate about it, my wedding pictures are kind of awful”. 

Johnny laughs a bit, looking curious. “That actually sucks, sorry. You’re married?” 

“ _Was_ , I’m divorced.” Kun explains. 

“Not because of the wedding pictures, I hope.” Johnny jokes, and Kun laughs loudly. 

“They weren’t _that_ bad, no. Though the divorce makes it easier to trash on the pictures.”

Johnny hums. “Yeah, I get that. I’m divorced as well, and the only time I open my wedding album is to laugh about it with my friends.” 

Kun is thinking about what to say next, but before he has the chance, Johnny speaks again. “But you didn’t answer my question about how you made your way here. Why leave the Manhattan lifestyle for the suburbs?”

“Oh, right. Well, I actually got a job at University of Buffalo, and it coincided that Yangyang was coming to live with me full time. The commute from Manhattan didn’t make any sense and the apartment I was living wasn’t that great for a kid, so I figured it was time to bite the bullet and make the move.” Kun explains, watching Johnny is place the cooked chicken and vegetables into the pot to heat it through. 

“Oh, Professor Kun” Johnny teases. From the half an hour or so they’ve been talking, Kun can already see that the taller man is very much the good humored, playful type; having Ten as his best friend for the last eleven years or so, Kun really doesn’t mind. “So Yangyang was living with his mom before?”

“Dad, actually.” Kun corrects, a little nervous. He’s not embarrassed to admit on his sexuality, but it still makes him anxious, especially with someone he really doesn’t know, in a new place. “We both lived close enough that Yangyang spent half the year with me and half with him, and it worked out well. He recently had to move to Florida for a job though, and it just made more sense for Yangie not to make such a huge move, so he’s staying with me permanently for now.” 

Johnny looks pleasantly surprised. “Oh, sorry for assuming, we just don’t get a lot of openly LGBTQ POC people around here. Hey, welcome to the club then!” He grins. 

Kun’s heart has a dangerous hopeful feeling settling in. “You’re gay, too?”

“Bi, actually.” Johnny is still smiling. “Though I’ll admit I haven’t dated a guy since college. Not a lot of young men interested in single fathers, I’ll tell you.” 

“Damn.” Kun shakes his head, jokingly disappointed. “You were married to a woman then? Donghyuck’s mom?”

“Yeah, we met in college. Dated for a few years, got married, moved to this house, had Donghyuck, the whole american dream.”

“Very heteronormative, but I respect that.” Kun teases, and Johnny laughs; it makes the chinese oddily giddy that he can get the sound out of him. “You still have a good relationship?”

“Yeah, we’re friends. She lives in New Jersey, getting re-married next spring.” Johnny answers, and his tone is sincere in which there doesn’t seem to be any resentment. “It was really a matter of we just weren’t romantically attracted to each other any more, so it didn’t make any sense to keep going. I was more involved in the community than her so I kept the house and Donghyuck lives with me, but he spends alternated weekends and breaks with her. It works out fine, luckily no drama.” 

Johnny turns off the fire, tasting a bit of the seasoned chicken with a fork. He hums, satisfied, taking another small piece and extending it in Kun’s direction. “Here, tell me if you think it’s too bland.” 

Johnny’s hand is an inch from Kun’s face, and the younger hopes he doesn’t look too flustered as he takes a bite of the chicken and starts chewing. _God, you’re so embarrassing_ , Kun thinks as he cringes internally at how affected he is over this man he met all but less than a day ago. 

“It’s good.” Kun offers, and he’s sincere; as if being hot, bi, kind and successful isn’t enough, apparently Johnny is also a great cook. “The seasoning is great.” 

Johnny does a small celebratory dance, just a tad bit goofy, and Kun cracks in laughter. “Thank god, I was scared I was going to make a terrible first impression.”

They work together in setting up the table, and then serving. Once it’s done, Johnny calls out from the dining table. “Go wash your hands you two, dinner is ready.” 

“Just one minute, dad.” Donghyuck says back, without glancing away from the TV. 

Johnny is not having it. “I said _now_ , Donghyuck, the pasta will get cold.” 

Donghyuck whines, but pauses the game, and then he and Yangyang start racing to the bathroom, lightly pushing each other and screaming. Kun can’t help but smile at the scene, his heart warm. When he glances back at Johnny, the older is looking at him curiously. 

Kun throws a smile back. “I’m just glad Yangyang is getting along. He really didn’t want to leave his school and the friends he grew up with, but I think having Donghyuck might help him feel at home sooner.” 

Johnny’s face shifts for something softer, understanding. “Well, if the fact he and Donghyuck are already making plans to hang out every weekend for the next twenty years means anything, I’m sure Yangyang will fit in just fine.”

When the boys are back (trying to sneakily dry their hands on their pants), the four sit down to eat and chat. Johnny asks Yangyang about how his first day went and how he’s liking Brighton so far, and the boy goes _on and on_ about it, to the point Kun has to remind him to keep eating and to properly chew before talking again. Donghyuck also adds on information, and it’s all very loud and honestly a little bit hard to keep up, but Johnny seems to have his hundred percent attention on it, not just pretending to (like every parent does once in a while), asking questions and engaging. Yangyang is an extroverted kid, but like every six year old he usually get a little bit shy around adult strangers; however, with Johnny, it seems like he has known the older for years, and Kun can immediately tell he took a liking for the man’s goofy sense of humor and disposition to tease and be teased back. 

Once they’re finished eating, Donghyuck and Yangyang are practically vibrating in their seats, waiting to be dismissed back to their game (Kun can’t honestly understand how kids don’t get bored with playing the same thing for so many hours on end). Kun starts gathering the dishes to wash them, giving Johnny no chance to get ahead on it, and the other man throws him a thankful smile before pointing fingers at the children. “The two of you, brush your teeth before going back.” 

They whine, loudly. “But we’ll brush it in a few hours before going to bed anyway!” Donghyuck says at the same time Yangyang yells “My toothbrush is at home!”. 

Johnny gets up, shaking his head. “I’m sure we have a new one somewhere in the bathroom, and you have to brush your teeth after every meal unless you want to be toothless by 12, Donghyuck. C’mon, let’s go.” 

Johnny then, swiftly and with practiced ease, hooks his arms under each of the kids legs, throwing one elementary schooler in each shoulder. The two of them scream, but start laughing in delight a second later as Johnny starts marching to the bathroom. It looks like it’s no effort for Johnny, and Kun can’t help but think it’s really fucking hot; the fact that the older throws him a playful wink before walking away doesn’t help, either. 

He focuses on washing the dishes, also trying to wipe away the image of Johnny’s arms as they flexed to hold the kids up, and it doesn’t take long before the older is back from tooth brushing duty. He takes a cloth and starts putting away the dishes Kun is washing, and the conversation between the two of them pick up naturally from where it left off. 

Kun feels silly about being nervous about staying for dinner, because Johnny is by far one of the easiest people he’s ever met. He’s so nice to talk to, both a good listener as well as an apt talker, and as they share stories about raising children and the insanity of adult life and having to work, it’s easy for Kun to feel comfortable with the older man. It’s been a while since he’s had the opportunity to spend so much time sitting down and getting to know someone new, and there’s that giddy feeling in his chest from making a new friend. 

They only notice it’s starting to get late when Yangyang and Donghyuck begin to yawn, even as they keep fighting to stay awake and keep playing. Kun checks his clock and sees it’s 9:30pm, way past Yangyang’s bedtime, and he feels a little guilty that he let himself get distracted (although he knows his son is probably more than happy to spend more time with his new friend). 

“Yangyang, gather your things and put on your shoes, it’s time to go baobei.” He tells his son softly, running fingers through his hair comfortably, and the younger nods sleepily without protest. 

“Do you want me to walk you home? It’s a little late.” Johnny offers kindly. 

“My knight in shining armor.” Kun teases lightly, getting a laugh out of Johnny. “But no, we’ll be fine. It’s just a street over.” 

Once Yangyang finishes putting on his shoes (after much effort and refusal to let anyone help), he and Donghyuck bump their fists as a goodbye. He looks up at Kun, extending his arms and arming himself with puppy eyes that show exactly what he wants; the father sighs before bending down and hoisting him up, Yangyang immediately curling into him even though he’s a little too big for this. 

Johnny walks them to the door. “Thank you for staying over for dinner Kun, really, I had a great time.” 

“Me too.” Kun smiles, sincere. “Thank you for cooking for us. You have to let me repay the deed sometime.” 

“Oh, absolutely. Just text me and I’ll be over in less than five minutes.” Johnny laughs. “Are you coming to the cookout on Saturday?” 

Kun heard about the cookout, got a flyer for it two days after he moved in; it’s such a _suburban_ family thing, nothing like he ever experienced living in the city, and Kun is actually a little curious about it. “I’m not sure, I was nervous about not knowing anyone.” 

“Oh, then you’re definitely going! You know me, and I’ll be there!” Johnny beams. “Also, I want to introduce you to my friends.” 

The chinese man is torn between being giddy and thankful Johnny likes him enough to introduce him to his friends and being nervous because from what he gathered from Johnny so far, _friends_ may mean the entire neighborhood. He can’t (and doesn’t want to) turn down the invite though, so he nods. “Yeah, sure! I’ll be there then.” 

As Kun walks home with his son drifting off on his shoulder, he’s already thinking about calling Ten to tell him about tonight, what he’ll cook to bring on Saturday, maybe what’s he’s going to wear. It’s the first time he finds himself excited for something out of his routine ever since he moved, and the feeling is more than welcomed. 

“Baba, hurry! We’re late! Hyuck must be already there!” Yangyang whines, standing near the doorstep to show he’s ready to leave any minute. 

Kun is in the kitchen, making sure his Butterfinger cheesecake cups are all safely stored and looking as good as they can. He might not admit how long he spent on them if someone asks, especially considering they’re no bake, but he’s quite nervous about making a good impression on his new neighbors and even more, Johnny’s friends. 

“I’m coming kiddo, coming.” Kun answers, and Yangyang is already jumping up and down as he opens the door. 

It’s a really hot day out, the remnants of summer still clinging onto the blue sky and bright sun. The block party is happening in the street below, where Johnny lives, but Kun lets Yangyang run a little ahead, the tiny sunglasses on his nose making him look unfairly adorable. 

The street is packed; it’s a lot more people than Kun expected, and it takes a lot not to turn around and go back home, if only because it’s too hot to be around this many people. He can practically feel Yangyang’s excitement though, smelling all the food, seeing kids running around and especially anxious to go play in the rented inflatables in the distance. For now, he asks the elementary schooler to stand near him so he doesn’t get lost, and promises he can go play once they find Johnny. 

It’s harder than Kun imagined to do so, especially because the community is so tight knitted he stands out like a sore thumb and _everyone_ wants to talk to him, be introduced, ask when he moved, where he lives, what he does for a living. There’s talk about sign ups for sports days, plenty of advice on afterschool activities, and even a mom asking Kun to convince her son to pick Buffalo and stay nearby; yet, Kun doesn’t see Johnny or Donghyuck anywhere, and he can see even with a cup of soda he compromised on, Yangyang is getting antsy. 

He bites the bullet and tries his luck asking someone if they’ve seen the man, and the guy immediately directs him to a few houses ahead; “He and the guys are probably near the grill”. Kun is hopeful as he scans the street side to side, desperately waiting to sit down in the shade (and send off Yangyang to burn energy), and he sighs in relief as his eyes lock into a group of people sitting on beach chairs near the curb. 

Johnny is hard to miss, honestly, the floral blue dad shirt that sits on that fine line between tacky and stylish, but that he pulls off perfectly. He’s smiling, as always, listening to something one of his friends is saying; if these are the people he wanted to introduce Kun, the chinese man is a little relieved at the fact that it only appears to be four other man sitting there. 

Kun is still approaching when Johnny catches his eyes, and the smile that widens on his face is so welcoming, it’s a straight shot into the chinese man’s weak, weak heart. The taller men stands up, his loud voice shouting. “Kun! You came!”

Suddenly everyone in the group is looking at him, small shouts of enthusiasm and “Welcomes!” being said in all sorts of voices. It melts a little of Kun’s worries away, to see how friendly and approachable to his presence they seem to be, and he smiles back at everyone, quickening his pace to reach the group faster. 

Yangyang is a step ahead though, running before Kun has the chance to stop him and throwing himself to hug Johnny. The older laughs, unbothered, and ruffles the kid’s hair. “Nice to see you too, little bud! Hyuck and the boys are playing over there, they’ve been waiting for you.” 

Kun knows that ‘the boys’ means the other friends Yangyang has made this week, as Donghyuck took him under his wing: Jeno, Renjun and Jaemin. They’re good kids, much calmer than Donghyuck and Yangyang, and Kun is glad the devilish duo has a few good influences in their life. Yangyang barely glances at him for permission before he’s running off, and then Kun is close enough that Johnny engulfs him in a quick hug; it surprises the chinese man, not aware they were at that stage yet, but he gladly hugs him back. 

Once he backs off, Kun can finally greet him. “Hey, I finally found you! I’ve been here for a while but got a little distracted.” 

“Oh, has Karen already talked your ear off about sports day?” One of the other men asks. Kun is a little stunned at how good looking he is, with the dark hair and sharp eyes, but his face melts into something a little more approaching when he sees the two bunny teeth. 

“God, yes.” Kun sighs, relieved to be able to rant for a bit. “I have no idea what half those positions are for. I just told her to put me up for anything.” 

There’s a barrage of ‘noooo’s and whines after that, and the man is shaking his head. “Rookie mistake, new guy. You’ll end up with something that has you up on the sun the entire day.”

Kun is already regretting fifteen minutes ago Kun, who wanted to get away from the over enthusiastic woman on his face as soon as possible. “Well, shit. We didn’t have sports day in Yangie’s previous school, so I had no idea.” 

Johnny puts a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, looking at him kindly amused. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Thought we’d have time to fill you in before she got to you.” 

“On the plus side,” Another one of the man speaks up, this one with a stunning (and very mischievous) smile and longer hair tied up in a charming man bun. “Knowing Johnny, he’ll probably be around keeping you company _all_ _day._ ” 

The other ones laugh, and Kun smiles even though he’s not sure what exactly is funny; it is amusing to see Johnny blush at the teasing though, and the older rolls his eyes at his friend. “Shut up, Nakamoto.” 

“Well, aren’t you going to properly introduce us, then?” A smaller man asks, tucked in between the arms of a taller one. Both of them are probably the two most beautiful people Kun has ever met, and that says a lot considering he’s friends with Ten. 

“Right.” Johnny chuckles. “Everyone, as you all know, this is Kun, he moved here a few weeks ago. Kun, this is Doyoung, Yuta, Taeyong and Jaehyun, my friends.” 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Jaehyun smiles, his dimples showing. “Johnny has told us all about you, we were curious.” 

Kun raises his eyebrows, hoping the sun hides his blush at the fact Johnny has talked about him even though their friendship is still so new (and mostly based on texting each other funny images and parenting rants throughout their days). “All good things, I hope.” 

Johnny snorts from beside him, as he starts setting up another chair for Kun to sit on. “As if I have anything bad to say about you!” 

“Damn, that’s because you don’t know me well enough then. I assure you you’ll have plenty of material to trash talk me afterwards.” Kun jokes, and everyone else laughs. 

“I look forward to it.” Johnny cheekily says, throwing Kun a grin so breathtaking he has to look away before he melts into a puddle. 

“So, Kun,” Yuta starts, that same smile that makes the chinese want to be at the edge of his seat. “Gossip around is that it’s just you and Yangyang living in that big house.”

“Yuta!” Taeyong admonishes, suddenly serious. “Don’t be nosy!” 

Kun laughs, not uncomfortable with the subject; he figured from other conversations today that most people already knew of his situation. “It’s alright, I don’t mind. It is true, yeah, Yangyang dad lives in Florida right now, though I’m not sure why it’s such a topic of gossip.”

“You’ll soon learn that even though this is like, a great open minded community and bla bla bla, it’s also rather boring and people are just very eager to stick their noses into other people's business, especially ours.” Doyoung informs, taking a sip of his beer. 

“Yeah. They love to wear their pride as a gay friendly neighborhood, but they can be a little too eager at being a part of our lives sometimes.” Jaehyun agrees. 

That gets Kun’s attention, his face morphing into surprise. “Oh, you’re gay too?”

“Yeah, Johnny didn’t tell you?” Doyoung smiles brightly. “We’re the gay-asian-parents club! Welcome!” 

Kun notices then, that it makes sense that Jaehyun and Taeyong are cuddling and Yuta has a casual hand laying on Doyoung’s knee at all times. He immediately feels more comfortable, happy to be around people like him, and his smile is just a tad bit more relaxed as he jokes. “Oh, thank you for the honor! Is there an initiation process?”

Johnny is finally back with the beer he went to get Kun, and he falls on the chair beside him. “Host a playdate with the five of them, by yourself, and try to keep your house from being wrecked.”

Everyone laughs, Taeyong wincing at the same time. “ _God_ , I had crayon drawings on my living room walls for half a year afterwards before I had the chance to paint it over. Children have no idea not everything can be erased with water.” 

“Uh, you shouldn’t judge them Yongie.” Yuta teases. “I remember you stained my dorm wall red after throwing up wine on it and didn’t pay to repaint until a week before move out week.”

“That was centuries ago, stop bringing it up!” Taeyong whines as everyone laughs. “You’re going to make me look bad in front of our new friend.” 

Kun’s heart is warm at the word _friend_. “Did you all meet in college?”

“Not all of us, no” Jaehyun answers. “Johnny, Taeyong and Yuta went to college together. Me and Doyoung married into the club”. 

“Quite literally, in my case. I met Yuta at my friend’s wedding, Johnny was the photographer and brought him to help out.” Doyoung informs, a nostalgic smile. 

“That was so long ago. Back then I had no money to pay for help so I had to make due with whoever was available and accepting payment in the form of free wedding food.” Johnny sighs. 

“So Johnny got you two together then.” Kun hums, looking at Taeyong and Jaehyun then. “How did you two meet?” 

“Also my fault, because apparently I’m a great cupid!” Johnny smiles, smug. 

Taeyong rolls his eyes, but doesn’t deny it. “I had just moved here and Johnny and his ex took me out to a college bar in Rochester. I got embarrassingly drunk and flirted with the bartender the entire night,” 

“I was the bartender, by the way” Jaehyun provides, smirking. 

“And miraculously got his number by the end of it. I was too embarrassed to reach out the following day, but Johnny kept nagging me saying Jaehyun was super hot, so I did it, and here we are.”

“That’s amazing.” Kun shakes his head, laughing. “Guess this all thanks to Johnny then.” 

Johnny is delighted at the affirmation, if the arm he throws over Kun’s shoulder to shake him closer is any indication. “See! You should learn from Kun, how to value me!” 

Kun is painfully aware he must look like a deer in headlights with Johnny’s surprising skinship today, so he takes a long chug of his beer, trying to maybe light up his nerves a bit. If the look Taeyong is giving him is any indication though, the hint of a smile and curious eyes, it’s not as discreet as he hoped so. 

“Kun, you can’t feed his ego like that.” Doyoung tsks, shaking his head. “But don’t worry, hang out with us a few more times and you’ll join the Johnny Hating Sub-Club soon enough. We’re all full fledged members except Taeyong.” 

“And that’s why Yongie’s is my #1 best friend and y’all can kill each other for second.” Johnny says, playfully sending a Taeyong a kiss. He moved his arm from Kun’s shoulder to the back of the chinese man’s seat, but the proximity still makes a weird (but good) feeling churn at his stomach. 

Johnny’s friend group adopts Kun with no hesitation, and even if they’re a bit loud and there’s years of inside jokes and shared memories between them, Kun doesn’t feel like an outsider, but more like he’s catching up minute by minute. He learns more about each of them; Doyoung is a lawyer, Taeyong owns a bakery (he, like Johnny, shoved his IT degree up his own ass), Jaehyun is getting a masters in Business and Yuta works in software development. It only takes a few name drops into their conversation for Kun to gather that they’re the parents of the NoRenMin trio, which makes a lot of sense: Jeno is Doyoung’s biological surrogacy kid, Renjun being adopted a year later as a toddler, while Jaemin was adopted by Jaehyun and Taeyong as a four year old. 

Even though they’re all parents and middle aged, the group of friends is undeniably still hilarious: they’re all constantly teasing, challenging and messing with each other, and Kun finds himself doubling over in laughter more often than he has in the last few months _combined_. He joins in on it after a little while, hesitant at first but greatly incentivated by the fact that Doyoung is constantly riling him up a little bit, probably more comfortable with the chinese than warranted. They end up bickering with each other over small disagreements, all in good humor, and Johnny looks at them like he regrets the monster he might just have created. 

Speaking of him, Johnny is more than a gentleman throughout the afternoon, acting as if Kun is his personal guest even though this is a block party and there’s no reason for him to keep getting Kun another beer or chicken slides. When Yangyang comes whining to his dad he wants to go to the bathroom, Johnny takes note that Kun is involved in conversation with Jaehyun about the pains of academic life and offers to take the kid instead; Kun tries to argue it’s unnecessary, but Johnny is already taking Yangyang by the hand before he even has the chance to get up. Whenever he’s not snapping pictures of his friends or the kids, Johnny is being attentive to Kun, and all of his eagerness gets a fair amount of teasing from his friends, who keep asking why won’t he take care of them like that. Taeyong is the only one watching attentively to Kun’s reactions: not unkind, mostly analyzing. 

The sun is starting to go down when Johnny offers to grab everyone one last round of beer, and Jaehyun goes help. Taeyong grabs the opportunity to move to the seat right next to Kun’s, previously Johnny’s, and smiles at him in that soft way he has done the entire afternoon. “So, how are you enjoying it so far? Hopefully we aren’t scaring you away.”

“Oh, absolutely not.” Kun chuckles. “This is really great. All of you have been so kind to me, honestly. I think it’s amazing that you managed to keep so close to each other, living on the same block, even.” 

Taeyong hums. “It is amazing, but it wasn’t always like this. Me, Yuta and Johnny were like family during college, but afterwards, we were each in a state for a while. I moved here first, mainly because I really missed being close to my best friend, and it was thankful that Jaehyun didn’t mind moving in with me once we got serious. Yuta and Doyoung lived in L.A for a while, only moved here a year ago, and Johnny basically found their place for them while they were too far to go house hunting.” 

Taeyong looks a bit on the distance, watching Johnny and Jaehyun talk to the guy handing out the beers. “In a way, Johnny was the glue that kept us together. He moved here first, and we just followed him, because one thing about Johnny is that it’s once he makes way into your life, it’s really hard to live without him.” 

There’s overwhelming affection in Taeyong’s tone, so much so it would be easy to mislead it for something more were it not for the way Kun saw him look at Jaehyun the entire afternoon, as if the younger is his entire sun and stars. It’s not romantic, but the intense love he feels for his best friend radiates, and Kun takes a second to pick his next words. “I can see that. I- I mean, I’ve only barely know Johnny, but he seems like a really kind and warm hearted guy. An amazing friend, I imagine.” 

Taeyong smiles at Kun’s words. “He really is.”

Taeyong is silent for a while, and Kun is comfortable. The older is very different from the other three man, gentle in a way harder for Kun to figure out than the loudness of his friends, but it’s not something unwelcome. The chinese feels that with time, Taeyong might end up being the easier of all of them for him to spend time with. 

Johnny and Jaehyun are already walking back when Taeyong speaks again. “I know we’ve only just met so I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but I’m glad you and Johnny are getting along. For once, we get to meet you, and for another, I’m glad Johnny has met someone new.” 

There’s no time for Kun to overthink if there’s a double meaning to Taeyong’s words, because Johnny is already back, opening Kun’s beer and handing it to him first before he passes it along to the rest. He looks away to his best friend, pouting. “Yong, you took my seat.” 

“You monopolized Kun enough, I was just making sure y’all didn’t talk his ear off.” Taeyong smiles. Johnny ends up sitting on the street in between his friend’s leg, bending his head back to look at him and Kun. 

“What? I barely talked to him!” Johnny complains. “If anything, you’re all stealing _my_ new friend.”

“Sorry John, he’s _our_ new friend now” Yuta says, cheeky. “Find some other title to claim.”

They finish their “last” beer, but even as people start to clear out the street to their houses, they keep talking to each other. Eventually Taeyong has to get up because Jaemin somehow managed to drop a glass of juice over his shirt and needs to get a change, and Johnny moves back to the chair he was previously sitting on. Kun is a little quieter now, comfortable watching the conversation, but he can feel Johnny looking at his profile; he's a little shy, but makes himself look back, eyebrows raised. Johnny doesn’t look embarrassed to be caught staring though, only smiles back in all of his charming genuineness. 

“Tired?” He asks. Kun nods. 

“All the sun and the socialization drained me. Kind of want to go home and sleep until morning, but I’m sure Yangyang has other ideas.” 

“I don’t know, they spent the entire afternoon running around.” Johnny says, hopeful. “Maybe they’ll come home and drop dead before they’re even out of bath.” 

“God, that’s the dream.” Kun practically moans. “Yangyang asleep and getting myself tucked in with a book before 9pm.”

Johnny laughs, loud enough the other ones glance at them quickly. “Being a parent really makes us old, huh. It’s a Saturday night and look at our plans.” 

“That’s where you’re mistaken.” Kun cracks a smile. “I was _always_ this old. My best friend says it’s part of my personality.” 

“Really? No wild life during college, Mr. NYU?” Johnny asks. 

“If staying up to 3am in the library with the company of three cans of Red Bull is wild, then sure!” He snorts. “This friend tried to get me to go to parties all the time, so did my ex husband, but it was never really my thing I guess.” 

“Good for you, man. College parties are trash, and trust me, I wish younger me knew that and didn’t waste so much time in them.” Johnny sighs. 

Kuns narrows his eyes at him. “You were a frat brother, weren’t you?”

Johnny smiles sheepish. “Guilty as charged. Phi Kappa Phi for life.” 

Kun laughs, shaking his head. “I should have known. The extroverted, jock-ish types like you are always frat alumni.” 

“I should take offense at that, but it’s kind of true.” Johnny admits. “But I’ll have you know my fraternity taught me a lot in responsibility and communication.” 

Kun raises his hands at the defensiveness. “Hey, I’m sure it did! I don’t hate fraternities or anything. My friend -- his name is Ten,” Kun clarifies. “Ten used to hang out with frat boys, sleep with the closeted ones sometimes. They just weren’t exactly my vibe, too much pented up energy piled up in muscled bodies kind of concern me.” 

“So you’re telling me, if we met in college and I thought you were cute,” Johnny starts, smiling with his eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t have given me a single chance?”

Kun is a little surprised at the flirty shift to the conversation, but goes along with it. “First of all, you would never have even _looked_ at me in college, I was practically invisible back then. But _if_ you did, it would probably depend on the number of tank tops in your wardrobe and the amount of “bro” and “dude” in your vocabulary.” 

“That’s not true, I went to the library sometimes! We could’ve totally have met there and had the most adorable meet cute! I would’ve _definitely_ noticed you Kun, believe me.” Johnny says, his eyes heavy on the younger’s face, and Kun is for sure blushing now. “But if those were the pre requisites, then I probably wouldn’t have made the cut. I had like, three drawers worth of tank tops with my frat letters on them. I probably still have half of them, actually.”

Kun makes a face at the last affirmation, whining in embarrassment. “Please tell me you don’t wear them outside of the house.” 

“I _have_ before, to mow the lawn during the summer.” Johnny defends himself. “But I mostly wear them to sleep. They’re comfortable ok!”

Kun can’t stop laughing at the image of Johnny, a middle aged man wearing frat tank tops while he mows the lawn of his huge suburban house, a comic image. Johnny is pouting, unfairly adorable in a six foot giant. “Stop laughing at me!”

“I see Kun is already joining our sub-club” Doyoung says, satisfied. “You won’t regret it, hating Johnny is _hilarious_ ”. 

Kun doesn’t say that each second spent with the american man gets him further and further away from anything close to that, and honestly, he doesn’t need to. 

“He’s _so hot_ , Ten.”

The image of his best friend on Kun's screen shows him laying in bed, and Ten hums amused. “I’m well aware, Kun. You’ve only told me a hundred times in the past month.” 

It’s 2:30pm, and Kun is killing time before welcoming Yangyang and the entourage after school for an afternoon of playing in the yard and driving him up the walls. He initially thought his new friends were joking about the initiation process, but once the kids started bringing up spending the afternoon together, it took less than a few text messages for the job to be pushed onto Kun, who has a few afternoons a week at home this semester. The chinese man is a little nervous, because despite being a parent for over half a decade, he's never actually been responsible for more than two kids at a time; so, in order to stop himself from anxiously doubting his babysitting capacities, he decided to call his best friend to get his mind distracted for a while. 

Of course, as soon as Ten was done talking about his day and asked how Kun was doing, it didn’t take long for the professor to steer the conversation into the only topic on his mind this days, Johnny Seo. The two have been texting a lot lately, and it’s been a lot of fun for Kun, who hasn't spent so much time giggling at his phone ever. Like Taeyong said, Johnny is an amazing friend: he’s inherently kind and soft hearted, willing to go to great lengths to help Kun with anything he needs, but also good humored and constantly making the younger laugh. 

When you’re an adult and you make a new friend, it can be a little exhausting to bring them up to date on everything that has happened in your life so far; however, Kun finds himself eager to share childhood and high school stories, and even more interested in hearing Johnny’s. Kun never would've thought that with his busy life there was time to fit getting to know someone into his daily schedule, but they're making it work: it's mostly texts, but living so close makes it easier for either to make an effort to just pop over sometimes, for dinner or just a quick cup of coffee, and it's been really nice. 

At this point, Kun is well aware he’s harboring a solid crush on the older man, one that becomes more and more dangerous as they get closer and the feelings start to run deeper. Kun feels almost silly about it, knowing he's surely outgrown the age were this isn't a little sad, but it's not as easy to let it go as he would hope for; at least, not when their conversations keep getting flirtatious twists to them, and he's sure he's not always the one initiating it. Overall, it’s harmless, nothing more than a few jokes here and there, but he knows each of them are stored into a dangerous part of his mind to feed into his feelings. Kun has no idea if Johnny means anything more than a bit of innocent fun though, which is why he finds himself whining more and more to his best friend about it. 

It’s funny, too, because Ten is the only person who could _ever_ get Kun to talk about anyone like this -- the chinese man is a rather private man when it comes to his feelings, building tiny walls so he won't forget himself, but after so many years, he's grown used to the way Ten will just waltz in and make a door for himself like it's nothing. He reminds Kun that he's more than a parent and a grown up, that he can be himself for a few minutes, and gets him to spill about his juvenile feelings, like petty jealousy from work or even crushes. Ten is a lot, but he’s easy too, and he _makes it_ easy for Kun. 

“Well, he is.” Kun huffs. “Can you believe he sent me a _selfie_ yesterday? A fucking selfie! Out of nowhere!"

“Ooooh, spicy.” Ten teases with mirth. “Did you jack off to it?”

Kun chokes on air at just the _idea_ of what Ten is impling. “Oh my god, shut up, it wasn’t that kind of selfie! Stop being crude, will you?”

Ten laughs, completely unbothered and unashamed. “I’m just trying to bring some excitement into the story! This whole flirting but not doing anything thing is getting kind of repetitive.” 

Kun shoots him an unimpressed look. “Would you prefer me to tell you about all the papers I have to grade tonight? Because that’s the next most exciting thing happening in my life right now.” 

“And who's fault is that, Kunkun?” Ten whines, half annoyed. “You could be sucking this hot DILF dick right now if you wanted to, but _nooo_ , you'd rather text each other book recommendations and quilting suggestions or whatever old people do.”

“We’re the same age, asshole!” Kun blushes at Ten’s words, glancing in guilt at a book on his bedtable Johnny recommended him last week. 

“And yet, I get laid on the regular, while your dick is probably gathering cobwebs at this point.” Ten sighs, like he's tired and with a little pity. 

Kun groans, rolling his eyes and wondering the consequences of hanging up. He absolutely adores his best friend, but no one can get him riled up so quickly like Ten; still, in the end he's too busy being annoyed at the Thai to have time to worry about the kids being dropped off by Taeyong in five minutes. 

There's a short honk coming from the front of his house, and he can tell it's Taeyong's minivan, just giving him a heads up. He barely has time to bid goodbye to Ten before there’s five boys barreling through his door, shouting over each other in what children consider conversation. 

“Shoes and bags off boys!” Kun warns before they have chance to drag dirt all over his recently cleaned floor, and then moves to the doorstep to wave at Taeyong, who's watching from his car. The older waves back and once reassured the kids are safe in someone else's care, finally drives off (probably back to work). 

Kun closes the door and a second later his son is running over to him, giving his dad a hug and a wet cheek kiss. "Hi baba!"

It makes Kun undebiably giddy that even if Yangyang is growing up fast, he's not too big to be too embarassed by kissing him old man. "Hey baobao, school was ok?"

"It was great! We're learning all the numbers!" He says excitedly. "Renjun got all of them right!"

Kun watches as the wide eyed kid looks put on the spot; the older of the Nakamoto-Lee kids is by far the more quiet of the group, even if that doesn't mean a lot. "Did he now? You have to tell your daddies about it later then, Renjunie."

"He didn't get _all_ the numbers." Jeno corrects. "Just until 46."

"Still better than you! You made it to 28!" Yangyang teases, and Kun has to interrupt before this turns into a thing. 

"Alright, are you guys hungry? Or do you want to eat a little later?"

“We’ll play first!” Donghyuck answers for everyone, but they seem to agree if the eagerness to be allowed into the backyard is indication. Kun tells them to be careful and try not to get hurt before they're running off to play outside.

There's a big door glass in Kun's kitchen that has a view of the back, so he moves his laptop to the island so that the can work and keep an eye on them at the same time. He snaps a picture and sends it to the "We Hate Johnny (minus yong)" group thread he was added right after the block party (despite the name, everyone including Taeyong is there), and right away is replied with wishes of good luck and a fairly annoyed picture of Doyoung with a glass of wine, enjoying his free time from his kids. 

It’s less chaotic than what Kun expected though; he has to look a few times when he hears screams louder than usual, just to make sure they’re not killing each other, but with the exception of having to scold them about trying to climb into the neighborhood’s fence to get their ball (“Go around and ring his bell to ask!”), it all goes by smoothly. He brags about it on the chat, boasting his babysitting skills, and Yuta threatens to kick him out for his luck. 

He's just finishing with the Club Chesse sandwiches he's making for the kids when the doorbell rings. At first he’s worried he lost pace of the time and it’s already one of the parents, but a look at the clock tells it’s still early for that. Still, when he opens the door, he’s met with long legs and half moon eyes that make his heart skip a beat; Johnny is dressed casually, but the camera on his shoulder show he probably just came back from something work related. 

“Are you this worried about leaving me with your child, Seo?” Kun grins before even greeting him. 

“No!” Johnny quickly reassures, sincere, and Kun feels a little bit bad for teasing. “I just saw you in the chat talking about how you’re not doing anything and the boys aren’t giving you trouble, so I thought I could drop by for a bit.” 

Kun’s smile threatens to split his face, and he wants to die just a little bit. “Come in, big boy. I just made snacks.” 

Johnny has been in the house a few occasions before, so he comfortably follows Kun back to the kitchen. He looks through the backdoor, watching the boys play some elaborate game that involves Yangyang’s collection of toy swords, and Donghyuck’s face falls the moment he sees his dad. 

“Hey kiddo, don’t worry,” Johnny explains before Donghyuck can even start whining. “I didn’t come to pick you up, I’m just hanging out with Kun for a bit.” 

Donghyuck looks relieved, his large smile coming back. “Ok dad!”

They go back to playing, Johnny watching them by the doorframe. After a few minutes he picks up his camera, snapping a few pictures with a soft smile, and Kun glances at it with tilting lips of his own. Mayhaps the chinese is just a little bit too gone, but seeing Johnny register these small moments makes him a little too mushy; the older seems to have an eye to pick all the silly, daily things he’ll miss a few years ahead. Before Kun notices, there’s another _click_ , Kun glancing up to see a camera pointed at him; Johnny doesn’t look the least sheepish about it, grinning, and Kun rolls his eyes before asking for help with finishing up. 

Johnny remembers to bring a few sandwiches back for him and Kun once he takes all the food outside, and they sit down side by side at the island stool's to catch up. The older is just telling him about a weird noise his car is making when Kun spaces out for a bit. 

“Hey,” Kun interrupts Johnny’s sentence. “How badly would you judge me if I opened a bottle of wine right now?”

Johnny raises his eyebrows. “That bad, huh? Thought you said they were being angels.”

“They are!” Kun reassures. “It’s just Doyoung’s picture kind of gave me a craving, and since you’re here, I don’t feel as bad about drinking while babysitting.” 

“Well, I've had my fair share of beers while watching them, so I say go ahead." Johnny chuckles. “I’ll look after you.”

Kun forgoes the butterflies in his stomach in favor of taking out a bottle of wine, pouring himself a short glass and another one for Johnny (who tries to turn it down but caves anyway). They talk about their days, Kun getting the chance to rant on a few of his students who aren’t really putting the most basic of efforts into doing the required reading and then getting mediocre grades at their tests, and Johnny talks about the location for the wedding he visited today, how awful the lighting is and that he’s not sure what sort of malabarism he’ll have to do to make sure the pictures end up nice. Kun assures him it’ll turn out fine, because Johnny is Johnny and he hasn’t made a single bad wedding album in his life, and the older is thankful for the reassurance (even though he already sort of knows it and just wanted to whine for a bit). 

Somehow the conversation ends up at Donghyuck’s mother wedding, and how Johnny was the one who recommended her the best location for beautiful sunset pictures. Kun is curious, so he asks. “Are you photographing her wedding?”

Johnny snorts. “God, no. We’re friends but I feel like her fiance wouldn’t appreciate her ex husband at the reception, no"

“Oh.” Kun is surprised. “You weren’t invited?”

“I was.” Johnny corrects. “But mostly out of politeness, I think. I’m happy that she has found someone she loves and I hope they make it for a long time, but it just doesn’t make sense for me to be there. I don’t think if I ever get married again I’ll want her at my wedding either.” 

Kun hums, understanding. Maybe it’s the quiet mood at the kitchen, maybe it’s the wine they’re sipping, but he finds himself a little bit more open. “You ever think about that? Getting re-married?”

Johnny looks at him curiously. “What do you mean? Are you offering?”

Kun blushes _hard_ even though it’s a joke, pushing him and almost making the wine spill. “Shut up. You know what, I don’t even want to explain what I meant anymore.” 

“No, I’m just joking.” Johnny laughs. “C’mon, tell me, I won’t tease you.” 

Kun sighs, but relents. “It’s just -- with Yangyang, and everything, sometimes I find it hard to imagine a life with someone else with me. It’s been me and him for so long… it’s hard to be able to imagine someone fitting in."

Johnny inhales a deep breath, then exhales it. When he speaks again, there’s no tease on his tone, just sincerity. “Yeah, I get that. Kids make it really hard to keep dating, when it’s easier to get sucked into the role of being a single parent. Taeyong told me something though, once, and I always think about it: Donghyuck won’t be a little kid forever, and sooner rather than later he’ll have his own life and won’t be needing me all the time. When that happens, I don’t know if I want to be by myself, you know?” 

Kun understands the feeling, something he himself has thought about many times. He’s spent his fair amount of time by himself in his apartment in New York City while Yangyang stayed with his dad, and it always felt a little bit lonely, even if Ten came by often. He can’t imagine how it would feel to spend decades like that. 

Johnny goes on after a minute. “Still, I feel like if I ever got remarried, it’d have to be with someone in a similar situation. Someone who knows what it’s like and can be a bit more understanding.”

At that, Kun can’t help but steal a glance at him, and the older is looking at the sun setting in the backyard with a peaceful expression on his face. 

Kun is absolutely enamored. 

The conversation settles as they enjoy the silence for a bit, background noise of the kids playing. It’s peaceful, like it often is with the two of them, and Kun finds himself wishing to drag the moment on for as long as he can. 

Eventually, they have to go back to real life; Doyoung will pass by to pick up the kids soon (he’ll drop Jaemin off, considering they’re practically neighbors), and Kun is reminded of the fact that there’s no leftovers on his fridge. “You want to stay for dinner?”

“You’re going to cook?” Johnny snorts. “No offense but you look like you want to climb into bed and sleep.” 

“And I do, but unfortunately I have offspring that needs to be fed.” He sighs. 

“Well, we could order something.” Johnny offers. “I’m kind of craving some Thai.” 

Kun unabashedly moans at that. “Oh my god, _yes_ , you’re the best. The worst influence, but the best.” 

The older laughs, a little bit smug even though his ears are red. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

Johnny has just finished calling his favorite Thai place when they hear the doorbell, and Kun asks him to open as he has his hands full with washing the glasses from the snacks a little earlier. There's a loud laughter echoing through the house, and he doesn't need to turn around to know it's Doyoung. 

“Why am I absolutely not surprised you’re here?” He asks Johnny, still laughing. “God, everyone will be delighted to hear this.” 

“Take your kids and leave, Doyoung.” Johnny groans, annoyed, as he lets Doyoung pass by him and walk into the house. 

“Don’t worry John, you’ll be alone with Kun soon enough.” Doyoung teases. He barely acknowledges the professor at the kitchen as he sticks his head into the backyard, calling the kids to get ready to leave. 

“Good evening to you too Doyoung, I’m doing great, thank you, your kids are also fine and unscatted.” Kun offers, sarcastic. 

Doyoung is unaffected. “I could already tell you were great just by seeing your company, Kun, and it’s not like you wouldn’t have called me in tears if any of the boys had gotten as much as a booboo.” 

It takes some more coaching to get the kids to finally come inside, and they’re sweaty, dirty and a little bit stinky; still energetic though, as they start telling the man about all the things they did during their free afternoon. Doyoung helps them put on his shoes and tie their shoelaces, all while the five talk each others ears off even though they just spent the entire day together and will see each other again the next morning at school. 

“Cmon, oompa loompas, y’all stink and need a bath asap.” Doyoung sighs, hurrying the three out the door. He turns to Kun, a little more sincere now. “Thank you for looking after them, Kun. We should all hang out later, too, if Johnny stops hogging all of your time.” 

Kun laughs. “Alright, let’s plan something out”. 

“Have fun you two, don’t go home after curfew Johnny.” Doyoung cheekily offers before closing the door behind him. 

“Alright, dinner is coming so you better hurry up to shower.” Kun tells the two remaining kids, who’re looking suspiciously like they were already planning to run up to Yangyang’s room to play video games. 

“Can we watch a movie after dinner?” Yangyang asks, hopeful. 

Kun glances at Johnny, not sure; it’s a school night after all, and it’s not a good thing to set a habit of having them sleep after curfew. “I don’t know baobei, the two of you have school tomorrow. Aren’t you tired?”

“No!” Yangyang exclaimed quickly. “Please baba, please, just this time! We’ll go to sleep early every day this week, pretty please!”

Kun asks Johnny with his eyes, but the older is even softer than him when it comes to their kids. He sighs, smiling at the two. “Alright, but only if you clean up properly! No skipping on washing between the fingers of your feet!”

The six years old celebrate, making their elaborate four stages fist bump Johnny helped them come up with. Less than ten minutes later, Kun has already managed to get both into the shower, a miracle, and has set aside a few of Yangyang’s clean clothes for Donghyuck. They’re both old enough to shower by themselves now, though Kun hopes they won’t wet his entire bathroom by making a mess. 

(Of course they do, and Kun almost breaks down in sobs at the thought of having to dry everything before going to bed. But while he makes sure the two are getting dressed properly, Johnny takes the initiative of getting a rod and a floor cloth to clean it, and Kun almost kisses him then and there.) 

Once the food arrives, Donghyuck and Yangyang are starving. Johnny has to tell them to eat slower twice, both trying to eat and discuss their favorite Minecraft streamer at the same time, almost spilling on their clean clothes a bunch of times. Johnny and Kun get distracted hearing the conversation, happy just to be around their kids and so endeared by their antics even though they understand maybe 20% of what they’re talking about. 

Kun cleans up afterwards as Yangyang helps Johnny setup for the movie in the living room, getting some blankets and picking out a movie. The boys choose Cars, a favorite of both of them even though it’s a slightly older one, and soon enough they’re laying down together at one of the couches while Johnny and Kun share the other, not much space in between them either. 

Johnny turns off the lights and they watch the movie, all thoughts of tests to grade long forgotten in Kun’s mind. While at first they laugh at the jokes, or make quips at plot holes (annoying the crap out of their kids), as the movie goes by the living room starts getting more and more quieter. 

The wine starts getting to Kun, and the comfort of the couch paired with the warmth of Johnny right next to him don't help either; he doesn't notice how much he's drifting off until it's too late. He doesn’t know for how long he blacks out, but when he comes to, Kun's no longer sitting up straight and it’s warmer than he remembers; a few confusing seconds later and he drowsily realises his body is almost entirely supported by Johnny in something like a half cuddle. He has his head somewhere in between the older's shoulder and chest, and at some point the american must have moved his own arm to give him more space, because now it's lightly around the Kun's shoulders. The TV is off, and the only light in the room comes from Johnny's phone, the older scrolling through it with his free hand. 

It's been a while since Kun has last been held like this, and every part of his being wants to just go back to sleep, enjoy the comfort of Johnny's arms and chest. The awkwardness and embarrassment are stronger though, and it gets him to move. 

He slowly sits up straighter, yawning to hide his embarrassment. “Oh God, sorry about that, how long was I out?” 

Johnny smiles at him almost tenderly. "Not much, the movie ended maybe ten minutes ago. The kids fell asleep a little bit after you.”

When Kun glances at the other couch, he can see Donghyuck and Yangyang sleeping with their mouths open, drooling all over the blanket and all tangled with each other. He coos, “Look at them, we have the cutest kids in the world, Johnny.”

He only realises the implication a split second later, that the way he worded it makes it sound like it's _their_ kids; if Johnny realizes it, he doesn't mind it though, only chuckling. “Yeah, we do.”

“Hey, maybe you should let Donghyuck stay over. He’s sleeping so soundly, I would feel bad that you have to wake him up to go home.” Kun offers. 

Johnny looks unsure. “Isn’t that too much of a bother for you? You’ll have to get two kids ready in the morning.” 

Kun shakes his head. “Don’t worry about that, I’m sure I can do it. I’ll drop them off at school and everything, so you can sleep in for once.”

If Johnny still wants to say no, the temptation of a few more hours of sleep must be too good, because he sighs, agreeing. “You’re a lifesaver, Kunnie.”

They carry the kids up the stairs, both sleeping so soundly they don’t wake up at all. Yangyang’s bed is large enough for the two to snuggle into, so they tuck them in blankets, softly kissing them goodnight. It makes Kun’s heart soar to unreachable heights, how domestic it is, and he tries to hold onto every second to come back to it later. 

He wishes he was brave enough to invite Johnny to stay over as well, but he can’t find any excuse considering the older appears to be fairly awaken and his own house is so close; saying “Can you stay over and cuddle me to sleep?” isn’t a question Kun is nearly ready to ask. He leads Johnny to the door, and the older gives him a hug before he leaves, maybe a few seconds longer than normal (though neither of them mind at all). They promise to text each other later, and Kun watches Johnny walk away, his heart beating so fast he’s not sure how he’ll fall asleep tonight. 

Kun is on his morning walk when he almost trips over himself, dropping his phone. 

Johnny, on his front yard, mowing his lawn with shorts and a _low cut frat tank top_. 

It’s as ridiculous as he imagined it would be, but as he watches the way his arms flex and the hot sun hits his skin, Kun's mouth dries how fucking hot it looks too. 

God, maybe Ten is right. Maybe it has been a little too long, because Kun wouldn’t mind having _this_ Johnny do all sorts of explicit things to him. 

He’s so fucked. 

The smell of chlorine and the noise of water splashes are all around Kun, the older man crouching down to fix Yangyang’s tiny goggles in his eyes. The small kid is giving him a huge smile, his signature gums showing, and he can tell the six year old can barely wait to be let run to the pool. Donghyuck is standing near them, his own green goggles already safely on as he gets on his fingertips to look at the pool from the window. 

The thing about children and their cliques is that ideas spread like viruses: once one of them comes us with something, everyone gets in on it, and then the parents are left trying to understand where did the sudden obsession came from. 

This time, it was easy to find patient zero -- it was Jaemin who first suggested they take swimming lessons, apparently over enthusiastic plans of swimming in the ocean by themselves sometime. From there, every parent from the friend group started hearing about it, and even if they somewhat hoped it would blow over eventually, the children were insistent and Taeyong was the first to cave; he found a nice swimming school nearby and sent it to their group thread, saying he was in if they could figure out a schedule for pick ups and drop offs. 

From there it was just a week before the five were properly enrolled and buying all sorts of equipment, and a few days later, here they were, ready for their first lessons at the pool. Kun was the first one on babysitting duty, picking all of them up at school and helping them with getting into their caps and goggles properly; Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun have already ran off to the pool, and only Donghyuck is waiting for Yangyang so they can go together. 

“Remember, listen well to your teacher, ok?” Kun fusses for the hundredth time that afternoon. “Being safe is the most important.”

“We know, Kun.” Donghyuck whines. He’s recently started to call the chinese man by his first name, as Yangyang does with Johnny, and Kun likes it; it makes him feel closer to the sun kissed boy. “We’ll be using floaties anyway.” 

Kun nods, sighing. He knows there’s no reason to be worried about this, it’s completely safe, but still, being responsible for children is stressful. He signs the two best friends to go, and they run off holding hands, Kun warning them to be careful not to slip. 

Kun finds a seat on the outside of the pool area, somewhere more quiet but still close enough he can keep an eye on them. Their teacher is a nice young lady, and there’s only two more kids in the class besides them, which means she can give each one more attention. He looks at the picture he snatched of the five six graders in their swimming trunks a little bit earlier, smiling as he opens his messages.  
  


**We Hate Johnny (- yong)  
** _6 members_

 **me** **  
** **[4:02pm]**  
(picture attached)  
look at them  
🥺🥺🥺

 **taeyong  
****[4:04pm]  
**💖💖💕💞💖💞💕💞💖  
THEY ARE SO CUTE. 

**nayuta  
****[4:05pm]  
**adorable  
fuck everyone else these are the cutest kids to ever kid

 **jaehyun  
****[4:05pm]  
**seconded

 **johnny 🐻  
****[4:07pm]**   
thirded 

Less than a minute later, Kun receives a message in his private chat with Johnny.   
  


**johnny 🐻  
****[4:08pm]  
**spare duckie pic in the pool pls  
  


Kun has to get up and then zoom in a little bit, but he gets a nice picture of Donghyuck concentrated while standing at the shallow part of the pool and sends it to his father.   
  


**johnny 🐻  
****[4:09pm]  
**😭😭😭😭😭  
my baby!!!!!!

 **me  
****[4:09pm]**   
he was wearing his swimming trunk inside out earlier  
i should’ve taken a picture  
it looked hilarious

 **johnny 🐻  
****[4:10pm]  
**you should have!!! i trusted you kun 

**me  
****[4:11pm]  
**not everyone has their camera open at all times, mr photographer

 **johnny 🐻  
****[4:13pm]  
**you’re right  
only the good ones  
😎  


Kun takes out the book he was planning on reading, but Johnny texting him proves to be a little too distracting for his plans; he ends up with the phone open in the middle of the book, giggling at his screen like a lovefool teenager. Johnny is being distracted too: he should be working on editing the pictures from last week’s wedding, but all he’s doing is sending hilarious close up pictures of guests in the background, or selfies of himself with his cheek squished at the table saying he's tired of working.   
  


**johnny 🐻  
****[4:26pm]  
**so what if i come around  
and we take the kids to ice cream

 **me  
****[4:27pm]  
**🤔🤩  
that’s tempting  
did you speak to their parents

 **johnny 🐻  
****[4:30pm]  
**why would i  
it’s my job as the cool uncle to spoil them with sugar  
and send them home with extra energy 

**me  
****[4:30pm]  
**hate to break it to you bud  
but the cool uncle is jaehyun  
jeno told me they played fortnite with him the other day 

**johnny 🐻  
****[4:31pm]  
**that’s because jaehyun is practically their age   
but also  
ice cream  
pretty please

 **me  
****[4:32pm]  
**you really just want an excuse to postpone your work don't you

 **johnny 🐻  
****[4:32pm]  
**(picture attached)  
kunnie   
🥺  
  


The picture of Johnny adorably pouting into the camera is a low blow, and it makes Kun want to throw his phone in the pool and walk away, or maybe block his crush and move cities. Instead, he caves.   
  


**me  
****[4:33pm]  
**fine 🙄  
meet us at the end of class  
but it’s just a quick ice cream run, they have to be home soon and you need to work mister  
  


Once the five children are out of the pool and running to the shower room, Kun finally realises what everyone meant on how insane it can be to be in charge of all of them at the same time. With pented up energy from the class, they’re extra loud and rowdy, and Kun has to practically shove them into the individual stalls to shower. From then on, it’s a mess of pulling each other’s feet from under the walls, throwing soap bars around, shouting in lieu of talking, and Kun sort of wants to tear his hair out at having to constantly nag them about wrapping it up already.

When Johnny arrives, the chinese looks at him like he’s ready to throw one of the six year olds back into the pool, only with no floaties on.

“I give up.” He throws his arms up, sighing. “They’re probably going to come out dirtier than they went in.” 

Johnny chuckles, and greets the smaller man by giving him a quick side hug, squishing him a little bit with the size difference. “I’ll deal with it.” 

“Listen up you little demons” Johnny announces loudly, and the noise from conversation immediately dies down. “If you’re not out in five minutes, clean and organized, I’m dropping you off and me and Kun are going for ice cream by ourselves.”

Kun tries not to be miffed at the fact that Johnny apparently holds a lot more respect with the kids than him, but he might still be pouting; the american takes one look at him and cracks in laughter, pulling him into another hug even though the younger still has his arms crossed at his chest. “It’s alright Kunnie, I have the power of ice cream and being three times their height.” 

“Whatever.” Kun grunts into his chest, letting his arms fall to return Johnny’s hug. The older sways them a little bit, side to side. “You’re paying for the ice cream, by the way.” 

“Only want me for my money, I see.” Johnny jokes. 

Kun is getting more and more used to the flirty banter, so much so he doesn’t even blink at it anymore, just as the skinship becomes common too. Johnny is a very affectionate and tactile guy, and once he realized Kun isn’t bothered by his hand brushes and tight hugs, he’s been doing it more and more. It still makes the chinese man all tingly on the inside, but it no longer turns him into a flustered mess, which he counts as a win. 

“And your cooking.” He adds. “And your babysitting availability.”

Johnny hums. “I’m glad to know my many qualities are being valued”. 

Donghyuck is the first one to step out of the shower, and he lets out the loudest screech at seeing the adults. “Ewwww! Stop being gross!”

Johnny throws his son an unimpressed glance. “We’re hugging, Donghyuck. You hug your friends all the time.” 

“It’s weird!” Donghyuck shoots back, no real argument but the need to whine about something. Kun pulls away anyway, sighing but amused regardless, and watches as one by one the kids start to come out of the shower, properly clean (as far as he can see) and getting dressed. 

He and Johnny help them pack away the shower toiletries so it goes faster, and they’re out the door fifteen minutes later, walking to the ice cream place. The five children walk a little ahead, the adults keeping an eye to make sure they won’t shove each other into traffic, but it gives a chance for Johnny and Kun to keep talking peacefully. 

They’re walking side by side, arms brushing against each other, and Kun feels a little bit silly at the thought of how much he wants to hold Johnny’s hand. They’ve been closer with skinship, yeah, but holding hands is such a meaningful gesture, romantic in its own nature; Kun doesn’t have the courage to put himself out there like that, too scared to make it awkward. 

The ice cream place they’re going is a small, family run place, and the elementary schoolers already have their faces glued to the display, trying to pick which flavor they want. “Only one scoop each, you still have to eat dinner later.” Kun tells them as a server finally comes and starts taking orders. 

Once each one of them are seated down, slurping down ice cream and talking with their mouths full, Kun and Johnny finally have the chance to pick their own flavors. 

“Can I have more than one scoop, Mr. Qian?” Johnny asks, putting on his puppy eyes. 

“Will you eat dinner properly later?” Kun plays along. 

“I’m a big boy, I think I can manage.” He grins. “One scoop of chocolate and one cookie dough, please.” 

Kun makes hiw own order, simple like him. “One scoop of vanilla for me, thank you.” 

The sides of Johnny’s mouth are fighting a little smile, and Kun rolls his eyes, blushing immediately. “Don’t even _think_ of making that joke, John Seo. There are children here.” 

Johnny laughs then, loudly and leaning in a little bit into Kun’s space to brush their shoulders together. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Qian Kun”.

Once they have their ice cream and are seated down with the kids, Kun holds up his phone and tells everyone to look at the camera, taking a selfie of everyone and their sweets. 

**We Hate Johnny (- yong)  
** _6 members_

**me  
****[5:15pm]**   
(picture attached)  
blame johnny

 **doyoung  
****[5:16pm]  
**sick invite 

**nayuta  
****[5:17pm]  
**let them be doie  
you wouldn’t want to third wheel anyway

 **johnny 🐻  
****[5:18pm]  
**watch your backs   
i'm giving jeno and renjun another scoop with extra sugary toppings

 **doyoung  
****[5:18pm]  
**fine by me  
i’m dropping the dental bills at your place once they get cavities 

**taeyong  
****[5:22pm]  
**this is technically kidnapping but ok  
thank you

“Baba!” Kun has his attention taken from his phone by his son suddenly looking at him with bright eyes. “Now that we can swim, when can we go swim at the beach?”

“Hold on there, bud.” Kun chuckles. “You’ve just had your first class, there’s no swimming in the open ocean for now.” 

“But what if we bring floaties?” Jeno asks, hopeful. 

“You can’t wear floaties at the beach, dumbass.” Renjun rolls his eyes. “Dad told us that.”

“Oh, right.” Jeno remembers, disappointed. 

“Well, that just means you need to keep learning well.” Johnny logics. “Once you can swim without floaties, we’ll take you to the beach and y’all can run wild.” 

“Not too wild.” Kun adds, throwing Johnny a look.

“I bet I’ll be the first one to swim without floaties.” Donghyuck declares confidently. 

“Yeah, right.” Jaemin snorts. “I was the fastest one today.”

“Only because your legs are longer!” Yangyang argues. 

“Sucks to be small, then.” Jaemin sticks his tongue out, playful, and Yangyang lets out a sound of protest. 

“I am not small! I’m average height!” He exclaims. “Renjun is the tiny one.”

“We’re both small, Yangyang.” Renjun sighs. “The only tall ones here are Jaemin and Jeno.”

“Excuse me, I’m tall too.” Donghyuck gets into the argument. “In fact, just look at my dad, I’ll be the tallest one between us.” 

Johnny snorts, amused. “Don’t know about that Duckie, your mom is pretty tiny.” 

“Don’t jinx it, dad!” Hyuck whines, making them all laugh. 

The kids hang back with them on the walk back, entertaining the adults with their childish arguments and competitions, sometimes even using the two as referees. It makes Kun feel nice, to be around so much positive energy and seeing how his son has built himself his own home at this new town, with friends who accepted him so easily. 

Kun makes all of them hold hands to cross a busier street, even though they whine that they’re not _babies_ and wouldn’t get run over, and includes himself and Johnny at the end of the line. Once they’re safely across the kids let go of each other like they’re too cool to hold hands anymore, like most first graders do. 

Kun only realises Johnny is still holding his hand when they drop Jaemin off and Taeyong’s eyes immediately zero in where their palms are joined. He lets go, shy, and takes a hold of his phone to make it less awkward; still, it’s the warmth of the gesture that takes hold on his heart and stays well into the night. 

Sports day is, as expected, hell loose. 

Kun would like to know what is it about seeing your child participate in three legged races that can turn normal functioning parents into competitive, overbearing messes. Jaehyun says it’s a way for all of the silent cold wars that go on during the school year (the ones happening on every mom’s Facebook feed) to take a hold in the physical world, and therefore are rarely actually about the kids or the sports. Doyoung, who’s proudly holding a sign for Jeno bigger than his arms can carry, agrees: “I just want to be able to post a picture of Jeno with his medal and shove it in dumb Sarah and her quote on quote perfect kid's face.” 

Karen does end up leaving Kun to stand in the sun all day, handing out water bottles to kids who have just ran their asses off and are one step from dehydration. The chinese man spent the entire morning fussing over applying layers and layers of sunscreen on Yangyang, and then making sure Johnny would re-apply them every few hours -- he left the older man, who’s only job for the day was to cheer the loudest and carry a can of Sprite around, to keep watch on his kid as he worked. All that worry, however, only made for Kun to run late, and therefore forget to properly apply sunscreen on _himself_ , realizing what he was in for the moment he set foot in the school. 

It takes almost forty minutes for Johnny to finally come over with some sunblock for him, but his milk white complexion is already pretty red by the time he’s applying it in every exposed part of his body; he hopes to god the sunblock protects him from becoming a full on red shrimp by the end of the afternoon. 

His prayers are all in vain; sports day ends with Yangyang winning a medal at dodgeball, Donghyuck skinning both his knees at soccer, Johnny filling up a memory card with pictures and Kun looking like he just got boiled in steaming water for the day. 

The kids are having a sleepover at Taeyong’s, which means they have an excuse to have dinner together and drink. Taeyong left the event a little early to start cooking, and immediately frowns when he takes one look at Kun at his doorstep. 

“How the hell did you let this happen, Kun? You could’ve gotten insolation.” He admonishes, rushing him in. Yangyang and Donghyuck squeeze themselves between them with a half-assed greeting to Taeyong before they're running ahead to their waiting friends, but Johnny is stil standing behind Kun trying his very best not to laugh. 

“I know, I know, I forgot to apply sunscreen and the one Johnny got me apparently wasn’t strong enough.” The chinese sheepishly sighs. “I’m hoping I won’t peel off all over or something.”

“Johnny, you should’ve asked me or Doyoung for ours! We have really strong ones!” Taeyong chides. “Go get him some sunburn relief cream in the bathroom.” 

Taeyong keeps talking Kun’s ear off about it, worried, but Kun admits he doesn't mind being fussed over like this. He's always somehow been the one looking after people (expected when Kun and Luke were the ones mostly around him), but Taeyong out-mom him sometimes with how much he looks after his friends. 

Doyoung, of course, cackles at Kun's face as soon as he sees him, and is soon joined by Yuta as well. Jaehyun is more sympathetic, being very light skinned and prone to burns himself, but does admit it looks a little funny, like the man’s an angry cartoon character. Kun takes all of the teasing light heartedly, a little bit annoyed but not much, and soon enough Johnny is back with the cream. 

He extends his hand to get it, but Johnny has other plans, sitting by his side on the couch and and applying a generous amount of the cream on his left hand. Kun raises his eyebrows, but Johnny only takes his burnt arm and starts applying the refreshing substance all over it, softly massaging it as well. Thankfully, Kun’s already so red no one can notice how he’s blushing, especially with the way all of their friends are looking at them, wiggling eyebrows and mischievous smiles. 

“Damn, you guys want some privacy?” Yuta asks, and Kun flips him off. Johnny cracks a smile but continues working, moving to the other arm unbothered. 

Kun sighs, enjoying the pampering, and when Johnny asks him to close his eyes so he can apply it on his face, Kun actually positions himself so he can lay back a little bit on the taller’s chest, letting his head fall back and hit his shoulder. Johnny’s fingers are soft as he runs his hand all over Kun’s features, making sure none of it is left untouched, and Kun lets out air through his nose, thoroughly relaxed after such an exhausting day. 

When Johnny finishes and Kun open his eyes, he finds the older a bit closer than he expected, eyes so calm as watches him. They’re on their own small universe at that small moment, just sappily looking at each other for a few seconds, before Johnny offers a soft smile and brings a finger to boop at Kun’s nose. “All done. Better?” 

Kun hums, not looking away. “Yeah, better.”

They join in the conversation eventually, though Kun doesn’t move himself from his position; instead, Johnny takes to hugging his middle, making it so they’re half cuddling on the couch, their friends all around. Kun thinks he should be awkward about this, more embarrassed, but he’s so comfortable and tired that he mostly doesn’t care, and with the exception of some looks here and there, no one bugs them too much about it either, which the chinese definitely appreciates. 

Taeyong is an amazing cook and there's no surprise with how great the dinner is, the wine Doyoung brought accompanying it perfectly. It’s been a while since they’ve all been able to hang out like this, and it’s a lot of catching up to do; every now or then someone goes up to check if the kids are still alive in Jaemin’s room, but it’s mostly just them chilling out in the living room, like parents often can’t find the time to. 

Kun offers to help Taeyong at washing the dishes, and Johnny tries to stop him by hugging him tight and arguing he should be resting after all the work. Kun says it’s alright, he wants to do something so that the wine doesn’t get to him and make him sleepy, and Taeyong has to interfere demanding Johnny lets Kun go (“He can decide for himself, bodyguard.”) 

It’s quiet in the kitchen, Kun and Taeyong working harmoniously as they make small talk and some gossip over the events of the day. Kun likes being with Taeyong like this, both of them amplifying each other’s less noisy characteristics in a way it doesn’t happen with anyone else in their small group, and so he’s very surprised when Taeyong fully turns to him with a very sharp gaze. 

“Kun, do you like Johnny?” 

Kun freezes while holding a glass, and for a split second he’s not sure he heard it right. His entire face starts to heat up once he recovers, and he forces himself to keep working on the cup as he squeaks. “What?”

“Look, it’s none of my business.” Taeyong continues. “So if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. It’s just… I can see what's going on with you two, everyone can, and Johnny is my best friend, one of the most important people in my life. I don’t want him to get hurt, that’s all.” 

Now, Kun is straight up confused, and it shows in his expression. “How would he get hurt? I’m not sure I’m totally following.” 

Taeyong sighs, and seems to pick his next words carefully over a minute. His voice is quieter when he speaks again. “Kun, do you mean it, when you flirt with Johnny all the time?”

This entire conversation sort of makes Kun want to dig himself into a whole, embarrassed. He knows Taeyong is coming from a good, kind and worried place, but it puts him on the spot with feelings he’s been trying not to spend too much time on. “I- I don’t know? Yes? Maybe?” 

The answer makes Taeyong frown, and Kun immediately follows up. “Yes. _Yes_ , I do. But like, only if he means it too?”

Taeyong studies Kun’s face for a while, analyzing, before the edges of his lips curl up and he goes back to washing the dishes. “Alright, then.” 

“That’s it?” Kun blurts out before he can stop himself. “Do you know if, like, _he_ means it?”. 

Taeyong is smiling now, a little self satisfied, and completely ignores him in favor of asking where he’s thinking about hanging Yangyang’s new medal. 

**me  
****[09:45pm]  
**johnny seo  
can you please explain why my kid’s currently throwing a tantrum over getting a dog

 **johnny** **🐻  
****[09:47pm]  
**😬😬😬  
sorry about that  
but if it makes you feel any better donghyuck is nagging me too  
apparently lucy has a new puppy and she let them play with him the entire afternoon  
now donghyuck is convinced he needs one too  
  


Lucy, Johnny’s ex wife, picked up Donghyuck and Yangyang after school yesterday and took them to sleepover at hers; it was something Hyuck had been asking for for a while, excited to introduce his best friend to his mother, stepfather and most importantly, his second room in New Jersey. They finally managed to figure out a day that worked and Kun was more than happy to send his kid off to get a chill day (with Johnny’s guarantees that Lucy was more than qualified to look after Yangyang properly, of course), but he didn’t expect to receive his elementary schooler back with a sudden obsession with having a dog.   
  


**me  
****[09:49pm]  
**i keep telling him i don’t have time to look after another helpless creature  
but he thinks he can look after the dog by himself 

**johnny** **🐻  
****[09:50pm]  
**same thing here  
donghyuck can barely keep his clothes off the floor  
how am i supposed to believe he’s going to pick up all the poop

 **me  
****[09:51pm]  
**and we can’t let them walk the dog by themselves either which means  
we’ll be the ones doing it   
he thinks having a backyard means the dog will walk itself

 **johnny** **🐻  
****[09:53pm]  
**why couldn’t lucy get like  
a turtle or something  
like a low maintenance pet 

**me  
****[09:56pm]  
**god   
now he’s trying to guilt trip me because we lived in an apartment and our landlord never let him have any pets 

**johnny** **🐻  
****[09:56pm]  
**noooooooo  
don’t cave kun   
no pets for our kids!!!   
it’s not worth it!!!

 **me  
****[09:57pm]  
**i know, i know  
maybe when they’re older? 

**johnny** **🐻  
****[09:58pm]  
**at least old enough to do the cleaning and walking

 **me  
****[09:59pm]  
**i told yangyang he can get a dog when he’s 10 

**johnny** **🐻  
****[10:00pm]  
**alright just did the same  
we have to present a united front 

**me  
****[10:01pm]  
**johnkun parents unite 

**johnny** **🐻  
****[10:01pm]  
**JOHNKUN

**We Hate Johnny ( -** yong)  
_6 members_

 _  
nayuta changed the group name to_ **J** **ohnkun and company  
  
**

**nayuta  
****[10:07pm]  
**now we’re talking

 **me  
****[10:08pm]  
**I’m leaving this chat 

Having Ten sitting down on his living room and playing with Yangyang is a scene Kun’s having a hard time wrapping his head around. 

The situation is very familiar -- a year ago, this was the sort of thing happening almost every weekend when Yangyang was over, Ten always willing to cancel on any plans he had to spend time with his baby. The thai man and Yangyang are practically best friends, a surprising feature considering Ten didn’t even like kids before getting to know the tiny pink little toddler Kun and his ex husband brought home someday; over time though, Ten fell in love with Yangyang the way everyone else did, and there’s no one, not even Johnny, who Yangyang has more fun playing with. 

The weird part is having it happen _here_ , in the living room of his house in Brighton. Ever since Kun moved away, he’s somewhat kept his life in New York City and his life in the suburbs sort of separate, and having Ten (the human embodiment of Manhattan) visit for the first time blurs those lines on a weird way. It’s not something bad, not at all, just a little bit disorienting, something the thai man seems to be having a lot of fun with. 

He’s gotten here in the afternoon, and has to drive down again tomorrow afternoon, before work on Monday morning. Right now he’s spending quality time with his favorite person in the house, Yangyang, while Kun focuses on making dinner for four. 

_Four_ , because Ten’s main goal with this visit is only partly because he misses the Qians and is curious about their new place; the other part, and the one Ten’s definitely more vocal about, is finally meeting the infamous Johnny Seo. He nagged Kun the entire week about making sure the man would come over for dinner, and with Donghyuck at his mom’s, Johnny was more than happy to comply, excited to meet Kun’s best friend too. 

Kun is, with fair reason, a little bit nervous about it. He’s not worried about them not getting along; in fact, he can already see that they’ll probably love each other, having similarly silly sense of humor and a lot of common interests when it comes to music and movies. If anything, Kun is worried about them getting along a little _too well_ : he’s already asked Ten a bunch of times to keep his mouth shut about anything crush related, but the man is being cheeky about it, saying he’ll “do his best” and “can’t make any promises”, which is honestly a little bit concerning.

“Uncle Ten, uncle Ten!” Yangyang jumps up and down, excited. “Are you going to meet Donghyuck tonight? He’s like, my bestest friend in the whole world!”

“Hyuckie is with his mommy tonight, Yangie.” Kun reminds from the kitchen. “Only Uncle Johnny is coming over.” 

“And don’t think I didn’t hear you calling him your _bestest_ friend.” Ten feigns hurt, pouting. “What am I then?”

Yangyang’s eyes widen comically as he tries to explain himself. “It’s different! Hyuckie is my _kid_ bestest friend, you’re my _grown up_ best friend.” 

“Is that so?” Ten narrows his eyes. “Because lately when I call all I hear is uncle Johnny this, uncle Johnny that....” 

“No!” Yangyang practically shouts, getting up to emphasize his own words. “Uncle Johnny is really really cool but you’re like, a hundred thousand times cooler! I love you the mostest!”

Ten coos, pulling the kid to the tightest of hugs and showering him with kisses that make Yangyang giggle and squirm. “I love you the _mostest_ too.” 

“Johnny will hear about this later.” Kun teases, smiling. His heart is about to melt into itself from the adorable scene. “He’ll be disappointed to be second place.”

Yangyang’s face is hilariously worried about this situation. “Can’t they _both_ be first? Renjun told me his best friend is both Jeno _and_ Jaemin.”

“Uh, no?” Ten answers like it’s obvious. “Johnny can claim first place once he invents a time machine to go back and change all of your stinky diapers in my place.” 

Yangyang eventually convinces Ten to play a few rounds of Mario Kart with him, even if the older is painfully bad at it (and fundamentally not that interested in the game), and their conversation is good background noise as Kun keeps cooking. He’s decided to make hot pot, one of his specialties and the sort of comfort food he doesn’t really have the chance to make that often, both because it takes a little bit of time and patience and because it’s sort of a waste to make an entire pot when it’s just him and Yangie. 

The doorbell rings ten minutes before Kun was expecting, and the chinese doesn't have the chance to leave the kitchen before Ten and Yangyang are already opening the door. 

“Uncle Johnny!” Yangyang screams, giving the older man a tight hug as if they haven’t seen each other in weeks, when in reality it’s only been a few days. 

“Hey there bud.” Johnny chuckles, hoisting the kid up on his arms in the way only he and Jaehyun are able to. Yangyang _loves_ it, has so much fun despite being a little too grown up for this sort of play, and it shows on his loud laughter echoing through the house. 

“Oh, I see why he’s competition.” Ten teases at Yangyang. “He has the unfair advantage of being your own personal climbing bars.” 

Johnny laughs at that, finally giving his full attention to the much smaller man. “You must be Ten, nice to meet you! I would shake your hand or something but…” He signals with his head to Yangyang occupying one arm and a bottle of wine the other. 

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Johnny Seo. I heard _all about you_ , from both the Qians” Ten’s eyes twinkle as he analyzes the man in front of him. Johnny looks like he’s about to make a comment on it when he notices Kun finally stepping away from the kitchen and coming to greet him, and the way he _beams_ while looking at the chinese man makes his heart move. 

“Hey Johnny, come in.” He hurries the taller man from the doorstep, closing the door behind him. “I assume the wine is for us?”

“Oh, yes.” Johnny snaps out of it, chuckling. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, Ten, so I just got what Kun drinks all the time.” 

“Don’t say it like that!” Kun admonishes. “I don’t drink it all the time.” 

“Yes you do.” Ten laughs. “At least you used to, one year ago. And don’t worry Johnny boy, I was the one who actually introduced Kun to it. We used to get wine drunk every other weekend.”

Kun rolls his eyes, walking back to the kitchen to put the wine down, Ten and Johnny already moving to the living room. “Really? I’ve never seen Kun drunk.” 

“Ha!” Ten laughs, throwing Kun a knowing look. “Yeah, he wouldn’t get drunk around _you_. Kun is totally the clingy, cuddly drunk.” 

“Shut up, Ten.” Kun warns, blushing hard at the implication. “I don’t get drunk anymore because it’s not fun when you have to wake up at 6am with a kid jumping on you the next morning.''

As if on cue, Yangyang starts wiggling out of Johnny’s hold, the older putting him down. “Johnny, Johnny, do you want to play with me and Ten hyung?” 

Yangyang somehow manages to pull Johnny into the Mario Kart game, and the playful competition for second to last from the adults is quite amusing. Kun may be only half focusing on what’s happening, but he can already tell that his prediction on how well Ten and Johnny would hit off was right on the spot: Johnny's practically wheezing with laughter at the thai man’s antics. 

Kun’s already working on the broth when he glances at the clock and notices it’s a bit too close to Yangyang’s bedtime, which means he’ll probably eat dinner and go straight to sleep. “Baobei.” He calls, getting his son’s attention. “Go bath before dinner.” 

Yangyang whines. “But we’re playing!” 

Kun only needs to give his son _the look_ before he settles, pouting but not answering back anymore. Ten sighs, offering an alternative to lighten him up. “Wanna show me your room? So I can help you pick your pajamas?”

Yangyang immediately brightens at that, getting up in a jump and holding his hand out to Ten. “Yes! Let’s go, uncle Ten.” 

Once the two are climbing up the stairs, Yangyang chatting Ten’s ear off, Johnny gets up from the couch and moves to the kitchen, settling himself down at one of the island stools. “Need some help?”

Kun smiles up at him. “No, I’m ok. Once everything is properly chopped hot pot is pretty straightforward to make.” 

“I haven’t had chinese food in so long.” Johnny whines. “You’ve been promising to make it for so long, too.” 

“Well, better late than never then.” Kun grins, unbothered by the man’s childlike attitude. “If you really wanna help though, maybe you can get a few bowls from the cabinet and wash them. I haven’t used them since we moved so there’s probably dust already.” 

Johnny moves right away, opening one of Kun’s cabinets and picking the bowls without even needing the house owner to point it out. He moves the four bowls to the sink, admiring the blue patterns in the porcelain. “These are beautiful, where did you get then?”

“It was a wedding gift from my aunt.” Kun explains. “Came straight from China in her carrier, she was delighted when they didn’t break.” 

Johnny hums. “Did all of your family flew out here for the wedding?”

“Not all of it, no.” Kun chuckles humourless. “There’s still a big part of my family that acts like I don’t exist. Only the more open minded came, but they were more than I was hoping for, so I’m very thankful.” 

“Sorry, that must’ve been upsetting.” Johnny says, thoughtful. “I think if I got remarried with a guy most of my family would get the scare of their lives.” 

That gets Kun attention, the younger perking up in surprise. “Oh? You're not out to all of them?”

Johnny shakes his head. “Only my parents know, actually. When I was with Lucy there was no reason to announce it, and I haven’t really dated anyone after her, so it just turned out like this.” 

Johnny finishes with the bowls and starts drying then, Kun leaning back into the island to watch him. “Do you think they’d react... well?”

“Probably not.” Johnny sighs. “They’re very Christian. Even my parents aren’t a hundred percent aboard, you know. They accept it, but I think they hope I’ll fall in love with a woman again and they won’t have to deal with it.” 

“That sucks, I’m sorry it’s like that, Johnny.” Kun says, empathetic. “You’re one of the warmest people I’ve ever met; you deserve to be able to love openly and proudly to anyone.”

Johnny finishes up with the bowls, and when he looks up at Kun, there’s something in his eyes that takes the chinese man aback, something he can’t quite figure out; it’s only there for a second though, before his face splits into a smile. “Back at you, Kunnie.” 

Yangyang practically runs back from his bath, and Kun almost drops the bowl he was bringing to the table when he sees his son dressed up in a huge one piece bear suit pajama he doesn’t remember ever buying him. “Baba! Johnny! Look, I’m Freddy!”

Kun realises then, he’s supposed to be dressed as Freddy Fazbear, the main character from a horror game he’s currently obsessed with watching videos of. He tried to forbid the younger from it, saying he’s too young for the jumpscares and heavy topics, but he knows it’s useless because Yuta lets his kids watch it, and they show it to Yangyang. He still wouldn’t like to encourage his kid’s obsession though, which is why he narrows his eyes at his best friend. “I see that, baobei. Did uncle Ten buy you this?”

“Yeah!” Yangyang says brightly. “He’s the best uncle ever!” 

“In my defense,” Ten starts. “It’s just a bear costume. It won’t jump scare him into nightmares.”

“He has a point.” Johnny says, pulling on the pajama’s cap to see the ears hanging of it. “It’s adorable.” 

“It’s not adorable!” Yangyang is offended. “Freddy is scary!”

Kun sighs. “We’ll come back to this later, Ten. For now, food is ready and we should eat it while it’s hot.” 

The many vegetables are already at the table, as well as the pot with the chicken broth. They all sit down to serve themselves, and Johnny does it for Yangyang while Kun is pouring the adults glasses of wine. 

The conversation during dinner circles around Yangyang a lot, like it often is when the kid’s around; he’s delighted at having full attention from his three favorite adults, and so he jumps from story to story, telling them all about his day and his week. Kun’s not bothered in the least; not having to talk means being able to eat, and he’s not one to toot his own horn, but the hot pot turned out delicious. The guests think so as well, Ten moaning all sort of love praises to his best friend and Johnny taking pictures to send their group chat and make everyone else jealous. 

Yangyang probably tired himself from talking so much and playing, because he’s drifting off after a while, fighting to stay awake and finish eating. Kun coos at how cute his son is; “C’mon baobei, time to go to bed.”

Yangyang wants to protest, but yawns instead and ends up falling into the temptation of going to sleep. He gets up and Kun follows him, Ten and Johnny promising to clean up before he gets back. 

Kun tucks his son in, the kid no longer asking for bedtime stories but forever needing his baba’s hug and a goodnight kiss. The father is not even done picking up the toys splattered around the room before Yangyang is already asleep, mouth slightly open as he lets out soft breaths. Kun feels a little bit mushy at how he melts at the sight, but seeing how fast his son is growing up, he finds himself wanting to hang on to this little peaceful moments more and more often.

When he finally comes down, Johnny and Ten are already done cleaning up, sitting on the couch with their wine glasses. They’re laughing at something, and Kun doesn’t even think before he walks himself to settle down at Johnny’s side. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Ten smiles, shaking off the tail end of his laugh. “Johnny was just showing me pictures of you red all over at sports day.” 

Kun rolls his eyes; of course they were laughing at his costs. “I’m not sure introducing the two of you was ever a good idea.”

“Though luck, buttercup.” Ten sticks his tongue out. “Johnny just gave me his number so I we can exchange blackmail material. Might even keep me updated on you since you seem to have forgotten you have a best friend ever since you moved here.”

“Wow, is that true Kunnie?” Johnny asks, mocking offense in Ten’s expense.

“Yeah, he _never_ calls me anymore.” Ten whines, dramatic. “And when he does it’s Johnny this, Doyoung that, Taeyong bla bla bla. I’m hurt, really.” 

“That’s not true at all.” Kun defends himself. “You’re the one always busy, Mr. Hotshot. I called you twice last week and you couldn’t talk.” 

“Ooh, the tables have turned.” Johnny chuckles, amused at the scene. 

“Ten owns a dance studio, and they’re super popular on Youtube. He’s always booked and busy and then starts whining to me about how I’m the one who forgotten him, this brat.” Kun rants. 

The arguments goes on for a few more minutes, both determined to get the last word. This is pretty common for the two of them, going off on bickering for hours if they so deem needed, and Johnny seems to be enjoying watching this new side of Kun coming out: if he thought the younger was bratty when it came to Doyoung, then this is a whole new level; Ten truly riles him up, getting him so frustrated at some point he’s at a loss of words and looking like he’s one second from kicking his best friend. 

Once the wine in their glasses ends and Johnny tops them off, the bickering seems to die down like it never happened, the duo moving on to another topic seemesly. It’s crazy like that, their dynamic, and it takes a while but Johnny gets used to it, finding his own place in sometimes calming it down or helping to rile it up.

Eventually, the older finally asks something Kun knows he’s been curious about. “So, Ten, you and Kun met in college right?” Ten hums. “How was he like, then?”

Ten grins at the question, sitting up straighter. “God, he was such a nerd. If you think he’s a nerd now with all the professor stuff, that’s because you didn’t know him when he spent all his time in the library and was part of the Lit Club.”

“See, I told you so.” Kun shrugs. 

“But!” Ten continues, his grin turning into a smirk. “I bet you didn’t tell him you were super popular, did you?”

“Oh?” Johnny raises his eyebrows. “Now that’s interesting.” 

Kun grunts, already knowing where this is going, and Ten ignores him. “Yeah, Kunkun was like, the nerds heartthrob. He was super good looking, super smart and you know, super kind and gentle too, and a lot of people dig that. I swear he had more people crushing on him than I did, and yet he never went on dates.” 

“Damn, you player!” Johnny shakes his head, amused. “And you said I wouldn’t have noticed you in college!”

“They were mostly other nerdy kids, Johnny. You were in greek row.” Kun rolls his eyes, though his face is burning hot. 

“You had frat guys invite you to parties too!” Ten protests. “In fact, did you tell Johnny you met Luke at a frat party?” 

Kun sighs because he in fact did not tell Johnny that; honestly, they don’t talk about their former significant others that often, and when they do, it’s usually not about the romantic stories of how they fell in love or whatever. Johnny gasps in surprise though, as if what he heard is totally scandalous. “Your husband was in a frat?!”

“No!” Kun throws Ten an unamused look. “He was there with his friends, and we bonded over hating the DJ.” 

“Luke was a nerd too, don’t worry.” Ten giggles. “Kun used to have a very particular type.” 

“Used to?” Johnny raises his eyebrows. 

“Well, yeah” Ten shrugs. “Taking into consideration--”

“That I haven’t dated anyone afterwards.” Kun interrupts, giving Ten murderous eyes. 

Johnny looks a bit confused, but doesn’t push, and the topic moves on naturally, Ten having an obnoxious amount of embarrassing Kun stories that Johnny is more than willing to hear about. They keep talking long after the wine is over and the night gets darker and darker, and somehow without noticing the gap between Kun and Johnny seems to get smaller and smaller until Johnny has his arms on Kun’s shoulders, the smaller leaning into him as they listen to Ten rant about how he needs to find a new roommate soon since his last one is moving to live with his boyfriend and he’s not making nearly enough money to live by himself in New York City. Johnny then says one the kids that he works with, Sicheng, is actually couch surfing while he looks for a place to stay, and offers to link them up to see if they can work something out; Ten is delighted at the offer, and promises to send him a text tomorrow to remind him about it. 

Kun finds his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier, and he probably drifts off with the background conversation at some point, because by the time he wakes up, he’s laying down on his couch with a blanket over him. He shakes himself awake, a little bit confused, and finds that the living room is already dark, Ten on the other couch watching something on Netflix. 

“Where’s Johnny?” He asks, voice rough from sleep. 

“He went home.” Ten grins at him. “You were sleeping all cuddled up on his side, it was fucking adorable. He didn’t want to wake you up though, so he told me to tell you he enjoyed the dinner and that he’ll text you later.” 

Kun blushes, embarrassed he fell asleep on Johnny _again_. And this time is even worse, because Ten was there to see it, and he can already hear the teasing he’ll have to endure for days because of it. 

When he looks at his best friend though, Ten’s grin has shifted into something kinder, softer. “You really like him, don’t you?” 

Kun is taken aback by the sincerity of the question, so he bites back his initial instinct of denial to think of a better, more truthful answer. It’s maybe a minute before he speaks again. “I think I’m falling in love with him, Ten.” 

Ten hums. “Falling? Or already in love, Kun?” 

And there it is, the truth Kun isn't ready to face, has been actively pushing to the back of his mind anytime he sees Johnny smile and his heart soars. He figures it's inevitable, simple even, that he has fallen so deeply, but the feeling sits heavy on his heart, filling it up so well it becomes almost suffocating. Even now, when it's just him and the one person he trusts most in the world, talking about it makes him half desperate to change the topic, deny, run away. 

But Kun knows better, has lived long enough and suffered in too many occasions to let himself fall into the same patterns of keeping things to himself. If there's a moment to talk about it and figure it out, it's right now, with Ten's cat-like eyes looking at him and soft hands ready to offer comfort. 

Kun doesn’t need to say anything though; he tries a few times, coming up blank, and eventually looks at Ten in a way he feels it’s answer enough. The thai man coos, watching how Kun brings his legs to his chest, hugging them and looking exactly like Yangyang when he feels lost. 

Ten moves couches so he can properly hug his best friend, Kun threatening a whine before giving up and accepting the comfort. “That’s _great_ , Kunkun, I’m happy for you. Why are you upset?”

“I don’t know.” Kun mumbles, looking at the wall opposite from them. “It’s just a bit scary. I’m already this deep when I’m not even certain he feels the same.” 

“Kun.” Tens scoffs. “You can’t possibly think Johnny has no feelings for you. You were literally just telling me the other day how you flirt all the time.” 

“Well, yeah,” Kun says. “I’m not saying there’s _nothing_ there, because there’s definitely tension, everyone can feel it. It’s just -- I’m not sure how much of it he means it, you know? Is it just something fun, or is he hoping for something out of it?” 

Kun pauses a little before continuing. “I am _in love_ Ten. That means something to me. I don’t want to flirt and mess around or get laid or something, at least not just that, I want more. I want us to go on dates and spend time together and, god this is embarrassing, but I constantly think about how good he is to Yangyang and how amazing it would be to build a little family of ours. It’s a lot, and how can I know if Johnny feels the same, you know?”

Ten ponders on what to answer for a while, rubbing comfortingly on Kun’s arms in the meanwhile. “Kun, I don’t know Johnny enough to be able to say with certainty what he feels, or be certain that he loves you as well. But what I can tell you, is that he looked at you with stars in his eyes the entire night, hanging on to your every word, and held you like the most precious thing when you were sleeping. Like I said, I don’t know Johnny, but I don’t think I’ve met many guys that would act like this if they weren’t at least a little bit serious.” 

Kun takes a deep breath, but Ten continues. “Try not to put too much pressure on the two of you, Kunkun. I know all of those things are important to you, but they will come if they do, and there’s no need for you to worry so much over Johnny being on the exact same place as you, because you know that relationships change and evolve. You may find out he’s also hopelessly in love with your hag ass, but there’s also the change he really likes you, but isn’t there yet. Both of those are great, and as long as you’re honest and your heart is in the right place, then I’m sure you don’t have to be scared.” 

Ten’s words keep replaying on Kun’s mind even after the two lay down to sleep, sharing a bed. The thai man is already snoring softly beside him when he takes one last look at the group chat, chuckling at all the jealous reactions to the picture Johnny sent earlier. Before he can stop, he finds himself opening Johnny’s chat and scrolling through all of their texts, looking for an impossible neon sign that all his feelings are reciprocated. 

Kun’s not a complicated man; he’s always been fairly straight forward, when it came down to it. He was the one to first confess to his ex husband, and he was the one to ask for the divorce, too. However, Kun is also a very careful, mindful person, and the situation he and Johnny are in isn’t one he can tread lightly. Even if a part of him hopefully thinks Johnny probably likes him back, trusting in the sincerity of Ten’s words, he can’t just follow it blindly when so many other people are involved: there’s Donghyuck and Yangyang, who are tied at their hips, and then there’s their friend group, Kun’s new chosen family, who’d certainly suffer from the awkwardness in case it goes badly. 

Kun is a patient man, and with all the care of an enamored heart, he decides to keep these feelings on his chest for the moment, the seed of something that may bloom only when it’s the right moment. He can’t know when that will happen, even if he hopes it’s sooner rather than later; however, when he looks at a few of the pictures Donghyuck took of the two of them at Jaemin’s birthday party, their smiles wide as Johnny leans his head on Kun’s much smaller shoulder, he figures there’s no rush. 

They’ll have time. 

Kun loves his son, there’s no question about it. 

He loves being around Yangyang, loves having him in the house, hearing his footsteps running around and his loud, screeching laughter through the hallways. Seeing him grow up so closely is truly the biggest blessing Kun could have ever asked for, and it shows in his eyes every single time he looks at his baby. There’s absolutely no question that the six year old in the center of Kun’s universe, and that he can’t picture himself being happy in a life where he doesn’t hear Yangyang’s small voice saying “Bàba, wǒ ài nǐ” every day. 

Sometimes though, sometimes it can be a bit too much. Kun is a single father, and even though he has Luke’s equal support, right now he is the one taking care and looking after Yangyang full time, and it’s exhausting, physically and emotionally. He tries his best, goes through any lengths to make sure he’s there, _present_ in Yangyang’s life, while he still has to keep a stressful and demanding job in a place that has an hour commute there and then another hour back. Kun stretches himself thin for his son, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world, but when all of it piles up, it can feel like he’s on the brink of exploding. 

Today is one of those days. From the moment he woke up, things started going wrong: he slept through his alarm for the first time in years, exhausted from staying up to help Yangyang with a school project (that he, as always, decided to tell his father about the night before), and that meant he had to rush Yangyang in to school without having time for proper breakfast, hoping an apple and a juice box would be enough to hold him through until lunch. He was running really late to the first class he had to teach that day, and that meant he had to drive above the speed limit, paranoid the entire time a cop was going to stop him and give him a ticket. 

He got to the class ten minutes late, and realized he had forgotten his laptop, which meant he had no slides to present the class. He improvised a different plan for the hour, but he’s sure the students noticed how frantic he was throughout it, because they were uncharacteristically quiet, which ironically enough only made Kun feel worse. Being without his computer turns out to be the worst mistake of the day: the entire time he’s working Kun comes across things he needed his laptop for, and yet there’s little he can do throughout the day but smile apologetic at students and colleagues saying he’ll come back to it as soon as he gets home to his computer. 

Lunch comes and goes and Kun is stuck at his office trying to finish everything early and go home, but he starts to get really hungry on the drive back and ends up getting in the first McDonald’s drive thru he passes by, something he hasn’t done in longer than he remembers, ever since he and Luke decided to completely ban this sort of fast food from Yangyang’s diet. 

Stuffing his face with a BigMac and some french fries does help make things a little bit less miserable, if only because now he isn’t upset _and_ hungry. He gets to Yangyang’s school a little earlier, and hopes to god his son doesn’t decide today is the day to take his time with saying bye to his friends: Kun is restless to get home and open his computer to finally properly do some work. 

He lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Yangyang as one of the first kids walking out, smiling with Jeno next to him. He scans around and finds his father car, Kun giving him a short wave, so he quickly fist bumps his friend and runs to get inside. 

In retrospect, Kun is more than aware that he should’ve paid better attention, because he only notices his fatal mistake once Yangyang is already climbing in the backseat, being met with the characteristic brown bag he doesn’t get anywhere near usually. There’s a small gasp, and then a squeal “You got McDonalds??!” 

Kun doesn't have the chance to explain himself before the boy is already tearing through the bag; the face he makes once he notices it’s empty almost breaks Kun’s heart. “You ate it by yourself? Nothing for me?”

Kun has to drive away so he doesn’t take up one of the hard earned spots in front of the school, but he sighs without looking at his son. “It was my lunch Yangie, baba didn’t have any time to eat because he forgot his computer at home. If you’re hungry I can make you something when we get there.” 

“But I wanted McDonald’s! It’s not fair!” He starts whining, loudly. “I can’t eat McDonald’s and you’re eating without me!”

“It just for today Yangyang, you know I don’t eat it either.” Kun placates. “I’m sorry for leaving the bag in the car.”

“But you did!” He says, so loudly it’s almost screaming at this point. “I’m going to tell Dad!”

Kun takes a deep breath, because this is it, this is the one thing he doesn’t need on an already miserable day: his son acting up. “Stop screaming at me, Yangyang. I’ve already apologized, you know you can’t eat at McDonald's. You’re not a baby anymore to be acting like this.” He says as a warning, looking at his kid pouting through the rear view mirror. “And you can go whine to your dad all you want if it makes you feel any better, but it won’t change anything.” 

“I WANT MCDONALDS” Yangyang full on screams, as if he didn’t hear a word of what his father just said. “I WANT MCDONALDS I WANT MCDONALDS I WANT MCDONALDS-”

Kun can’t decide if he wants to scream or cry, so he tries it best to do neither. He knows there’s no point in continuing to talk to his son, knows attention is really what he’s looking for, but having a six year old screaming in your ear for a twelve minutes drive isn’t ideal and he can already feel a headache coming when he parks his car in front of his home. 

Normally Yangyang would be the first to get out the car, running inside to play, but right now he keeps at his screaming and doesn’t appear to give any sign that he wants to move. Kun leaves the car, going around and opening the backseat door, but all Yangyang does is turn his head to scream at his face. 

“Yangyang, get out. Right now.” Kun grunts through his teeth. He’s ignored, of course, so the next step is to reach in and try to release the seat belt so he can carry him, but as soon as he comes too close Yangyang starts trashing, making the task as difficult as he can.

They’re making a scene in the middle of the street, and Kun is a brink from breaking down. He has no time for this, needs to go home and take some aspirin and then work quietly so that he can put this day behind, but he has no idea how he’s supposed to do that with Yangyang testing him to his wits ends like this. He feels his face getting warmer, a telltale sign he’s about to cry, and so he turns back and does the only thing he can think of at the moment. 

The phone only rings twice before there’s an answer. “Hey, Kunnie, what's up?” 

Kun takes a shallow breath. “Hey, Johnny. A-are you at home?” 

His voice must sound particularly bad, because Johnny is clearly concerned when he replies. “I’m driving Hyuck home right now. Why? Is everything ok?” 

Kun doesn’t know what to say, feels a little bit embarrassed that he’s about to break down like this, and then there’s Yangyang, still screaming in the background. “Y-yeah, it’s just. I don’t know, this is stupid, I’m sorry for calling I-”

“Kun, calm down and take a breath.” Johnny says into the phone. “I’m sure it’s not stupid at all, so you can tell me.”

“It’s just, my day has been crap, nothing is working out and I _need_ to work but Yangyang decided to have a meltdown over fucking McDonalds and doesn’t want to stop screaming or get out of the car.” He says in a single breath, voice small. 

“Ok, alright. Do you want me to come over and pick up Yangyang? I can have him for a few hours so you can work, then you can come over and have dinner, so you won’t have to worry about that either.” Johnny says, his voice kind and concerned. 

Kun lets out a shaky breath. “I don’t know. What if he thinks it’s some sort of prize to acting up?”

“We gotta pick our battles, Kunkun. You can discipline him later, for now, focus on getting what you need done.” Johnny says, wise. “I’m a block away, I’ll see you in a bit.” 

Kun sees Johnny’s car parking on the curb, Donghyuck looking curiously from the backseat window. Yangyang only stops screaming once he can see Johnny coming around, looking like a deer in headlights, and Kun hopes that it’s embarrassing enough that he never does something like this again. 

Johnny goes to Yangyang first, looking him over and letting out a sigh. “C’mon kid, you’re coming with us.” 

Yangyang’s eyes widen, looking at Kun and then at Johnny. “F-forever?”

Kun would laugh at the kid’s innocence if he wasn’t still pissed beyond his wits. Johnny snorts though, shaking his head. “Of course not, baba will pick you up later. Quick, get in the car and wait with Hyuck.” 

Yangyang sheepishly climbs out, giving his dad one last look before running off to the other car, Donghyuck opening to door so he can climb in. Once they’re both inside, Johnny doesn’t wait a second before pulling Kun into a tight hug. 

Kun is tense for all of one second before he completely melts, burying his face on the older's chest. Johnny is rubbing comforting circles on his back, his mouth pressed up against the top of the chinese’s head. “It’s ok, Kunnie, it’s ok. We all have crap days, alright?”

Right there, in the arms of the man he loves, Kun is hit with a sense of safety he can’t explain, haven’t really felt in _years_. Johnny is patient and tender, has no problem with doing this right in the middle of Kun’s driveway, and before the younger knows, he feels a few tears escape his eyes. 

“I- I’m so sorry about this, Johnny. You shouldn’t have to come fix up my mess or take care of my kid but I was freaking out and before I knew I was calling you and-” He says in between tears, his voice muffled by the older’s shirt. 

Johnny pulls away a little to look at Kun, and there’s nothing on his face but the most raw of affection. “Hey, hey, no, don’t apologize. It’s not a big deal and I’m happy to help Kun. Yangyang may not be my kid but you know I love him, and you know you can always rely on me when you need. Being a parent is shitty but we’re in this _together_ , Kun.”

Kun can’t answer, so he just nods, looking at Johnny in what he’s sure in the most vulnerability he’s ever shown. Johnny is careful when he uses the thumb of his finger to wipe at his tear, and even more when he leaves a feather light kiss on the apple of his cheek, soft and comforting. Kun’s heart skips a beat at the gesture, and he hopes the red on his face can pass as just from crying. 

“Now go inside, take a nice long bath and then get to work. Don’t worry about having to pick up Yangyang too early, if anything he can just sleep over and you can just come and have some dinner. I’ll cook something nice.” Johnny smiles. 

“I really don’t deserve you, Johnny.” Kun says quietly, but he’s smiling a little bit too.

“Don’t say that, we definitely deserve each other.” Johnny’s eyes become half turned moons. “A little help from above so that things are just a little bit easier.” 

Kun doesn’t say that Johnny makes his life more than just a little bit easier, but it’s probably implied when he comes over later, looking like an entirely new man just by having a few hours to himself. He feels like there’s not enough gratitude he can give Johnny, especially when the first thing Yangyang does once he sees his dad is run over and apologize for making his baba cry, saying he’ll ‘never ever ever ask for McDonald’s again’; he knows Johnny must have talked to him, that this apology wouldn’t appear out of thin air, and he’s thankful to have one less thing to worry about. 

Johnny pampers him in a way, with all the food and good conversation, not letting Kun raise a finger to help, and Kun feels taken care of, safe, _adored_. When he looks in Johnny’s eyes and sees the way the older looks at him, he can’t help but hope with everything he’s got that what he’s seeing is love too. 

October comes bringing a mildly cold weather, flu season and most importantly, Halloween. 

The talks of costumes and trick or treating come when the month has barely started, Yangyang informing his father of what he wants to wear as soon as the idea comes. All the kids are excited to wear their costumes at school the only day they’re allowed to, and then go out to fill their tummies with candy (Taeyong tells Kun that this is a prime trick or treating neighborhood, with all the big family houses; no candy corn or Necco wafers here, we’re talking Kit Kats and Skittles level only). Kun is sort of lukewarm about the holiday in general; it was fun when he was a kid, but it became a hassle after he got older and it meant loud parties with Ten and Luke. Ever since the divorce Yangyang always chose to spend the day with his Dad, being that the american man was much more excited about the whole thing, so it’s been a while since Kun had to worry about it. 

This time though, he thinks he might not be dreading it as much, if only because two weeks before the date, Yuta and Doyoung start spamming their group chat and inboxes with invites for their annual Halloween party. It holds promise of a kids free evening, where they can drink and eat sweets and maybe do some apple bobbing, and Kun is very tempted, especially after the other’s guarantee they already have their three trustworthy college kids that babysit for their kids every year, and that he’s more than welcomed to drop Yangyang off as well. 

Once Kun starts getting a little more hyped up for the date, he starts thinking of costumes and is met with various options that he wanted to wear throughout his life but never had the opportunity to. He also keeps bugging Johnny to tell him what he’s going as, but the older insists it’s a secret and he’ll only find out the day of, which means Kun pettily decides not to tell Johnny his costume either and therefore can’t ask him for his opinion. 

He chooses the one he figures he always wanted to wear the most, even if it’s a little bit too basic, and on the come up to the party focuses on busying himself with getting Yangyang’s costume ready. Doyoung actually helps him a little bit, the man surprisingly good with crafts, and it makes Kun feel all sorts of proud of himself when he shows Yangyang the final result and the boy can’t wait to get to wear it. 

Kun miraculously doesn’t have to teach on Halloween, which he figures it's for the best because he doesn’t want to imagine what mess the campus will be. Without having to rush for his own job, Kun can focus on properly dressing up his son, helping the boy get inside the green cutouts without tearing through things; by the end of it, Kun is sure Yangyang is the cutest Minecraft Creeper he’s ever seen, so he snaps about a hundred pictures and sends them all to Luke and Ten. 

Once they’re parked outside of Yangyang’s school, Kun quickly turns around to remind his son. “Don’t forget our agreement baobei, no wearing the head unless your teacher says it’s fine.” 

The head is a gigantic square thing, and Kun would be happier if Yangyang had left it home and only wore it later, but the kid insisted he wanted his friends to see the whole thing. “I know baba, I know. See you later, bye, love you!”

The boy is off the car before Kun can stop him, and he watches fondly at the funny way he’s running with his big green legs. He’s getting ready to leave when he hears two knocks on his window, and almost gets the scare of his life when he turns around and Johnny’s face is pressed up against the glass. 

He rolls the window down, looking unimpressed. “You’re not half as funny as you think you are, Johnny.” 

The older is still laughing at the chinese’s spooked face. “Happy Halloween, Kunkun.”

Kun rolls his eyes, letting out a sigh, but suddenly remembers something. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you but I keep forgetting. Do you want to go trick or treating together?”

“Well, yeah.” Johnny furrows his brows. “I’ve just been assuming that’s what we’d be doing.” 

Kun grins at that, nodding. “Alright. Want us to come over at like, six?” 

“That sounds good.” Johnny grins back. “I can’t wait to see you all dressed up, Kunkun. You’re making me curious.” 

Kun can’t help but blush at Johnny flirtation, because ever since that time in his driveway, it’s been happening more and more often, and Kun has too weak of a heart to deal with it. “It’s probably not as exciting as you think. I would’ve told you already if you weren’t making yours something of a state secret.” 

“What’s the fun in ruining the surprise?” Johnny winks, before leaning back and preparing to leave. “I’ll see you at six, try not to die of curiosity.” 

Once Yangyang gets home from school, all he can talk about are all the other kid’s costumes, how many compliments he got for his, and ask every two minutes if it’s time for trick or treating yet. When the clock hits 5pm, Kun finally has some peace and quiet when he goes to shower and get ready. It’s been awhile since he consciously made an effort like this, but he goes all the way with body lotion and some cologne, even blow driving his hair to make it nice and fluffy laid down almost to the point of covering his eyes; it makes him look younger and cuter, which is the point of his costume in some way. 

He leaves the shower for his bedroom, dressing himself with black pants, white shirt and a grey sweater, which he won’t admit are actually things he wears to teach sometimes. The costume only starts coming together when he gets the blue and silver striped tie to fix under his sweater, and finally, the long black robes with the Ravenclaw crest carefully itched on his chest. To completely finish off the look, he grabs the thin wire frames laying on his bed and carefully fixes them on his nose, grabbing himself his wand and taking one final look in the mirror.

He looks great, he has to admit, and even he thinks the whole thing is a bit adorable when he smiles. With a little bit of time to spare, he takes some selcas and sends them to Ten for approval (“You’re such a nerd but like, make it hot”), and when he finally goes down the stairs to an excited and rather fidgety Yangyang, he’s feeling a tad bit more self confident than usual.

There’s already some people on the street as they make the walk to Johnny’s place, and Yangyang lets his son run free in excitement with his little pumpkin basket. He’s been preparing himself all day for what Johnny’s costume will turn out to be, especially if it’s something that’ll make him look even hotter than he usually does, because he can’t embarrass himself by drooling over the man of his dreams with kids running all around. Even worse, he knows he’ll be drinking later on, and hornyness and alcohol can be a very dangerous combo. 

Yangyang gets on his tiptoes to ring the bell on Johnny’s place, and less than a minute later, Donghyuck opens the door. He’s dressed all in blue pixelated squares, similar to Yangyang’s, and Kun knows he’s supposed to be Minecraft’s Steve, matching with his best friend. 

He coos. “You look so good, Duckie. Did your dad make this?” 

Hyuckie snorts, his characteristic mischievous smile. “Yeah, right. He asked Uncle Doyoung to make me, said his hands are too big for craft.” 

Kun laughs at that, because he could totally see Johnny trying to put something together and completely ruining it with his overall lack of coordination and big limbs. Speaking of him, the chinese hears a loud voice calling from inside the house. “Kun, is that you? Can you come help me?” 

Donghyuck and Yangyang are already whining about wanting to leave, but Kun ignores them in favor of coming inside and walking towards the living room, where he heard the voice coming from. However, the second he turns the corner and comes face to face with Johnny in his costume, he has to halt his step. 

It’s orange. Very orange. It’s also furry. He’s looking at Johnny, the man he has wet dreams about, dressed up in a giant Tony the Tiger costume, and the only thing he can do is let out the loudest laugh he’s ever had in his entire life. 

Kun doubles over, because of course, _of course_ this is the sort of costume Johnny would go for. The older isn’t even bothered by Kun’s reaction, in fact it only seems to fuel him on, because soon enough he’s striking poses and Kun thinks he’s about to die from lack of air. 

“You are,” He starts, tears in his eyes. “The most ridiculous person I’ve ever met, Johnny Seo.” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Johnny beams. “Now help me with the whiskers, I can’t seem to make them even.” 

Kun has to take a few minutes to calm down before he grabs the pen from Johnny’s hand, asking the older to sit down so he can actually reach his face. It’s hard to concentrate with the gigantic Tony head staring up at him, but he tries his best not to crack up again when he bends down closer. 

One of his hands cup Johnny’s jaw to make sure he stays still, and Kun focuses on his work, finishing it off when he feels the lines are appropriately even. Johnny watches him the entire time, lips curled into a tiny smile, and Kun makes the mistake of meeting his eyes when he's done; Johnny immediately pouts his lips into a kissy motion, and Kun has never backed away as fast in his life, pushing Johnny’s chest once the older laughs at his embarrassment. 

“Stop laughing or I’m leaving you to trick or treat by yourself.” Kun warns, though there’s no heat to his words. 

Johnny only stands up, grabbing the huge white gloves on the couch and putting them on. “I love your costume by the way Kun, it’s adorable. We’d make the cutest Huffleclaw couple.” 

Kun ignores the ‘couple’ part to save him from becoming even more flustered, focusing on the _absurd_ the older just said. “You did not just refer to yourself as a Hufflepuff.” 

“I am a Hufflepuff!” Johnny exclaims. 

“No you’re not! You’re literally the textbook definition of a Gryffindor, Johnny.” Kun argues back. 

“Well, that’s not what Pottermore said.” Johnny shrugs, getting his camera from the center table. 

Kun won’t be convinced. “You took the test wrong, then. I’m making you take it again, in front of me, later.” 

“Alright Mr. Sorting Hat, we gotta go or the kids will run out by themselves.” Johnny puts a hand on Kun’s lower back, soft and guiding, and by the time they’re back at the front door, the kids are already discussing what candies they’ll trade with each other. 

“Alright kiddos, let me take a picture of you.” Johnny says, to much complaint from the elementary schoolers. “The sooner we get it done, the sooner you can go.” 

They take a few pictures together, making what Kun assumes are Minecraft appropriate poses, and the chinese insists on having at least one of Yangyang without the damn head. Once Johnny deems he has enough, he sighs. “Alright gremlins, you can go. Don’t run off too far from us!”

“Be polite! Say thank you!” Kun reminds as well, but the two are already off, almost stumbling into themselves to get to the nearest doorstep. 

Trick or treating turns out to be more fun than Kun expected, and a lot of that is due to having Johnny right next to him, cracking jokes about the various costumes they see, or telling stories about his own Halloween experiences, especially in college. The kids are ahead of them most of the time, the parents keeping an eye especially when it starts to darken, but every now or then they run over to show whatever candy they just got. 

“Hey! Lovebirds!” 

Kun looks for the source of the voice, already knowing who it belongs. He cracks a smile looking at the tall man standing in front of him, dressed up in red basketball jersey and shorts with a big “WILDCATS” and the number 14 below. 

“Please tell me Taeyong is going as Gabriela.” Johnny says loudly, and the dimpled man smirks, shaking his head. 

“I tried to convince him but he said crossdressing is only for the bedroom.” 

“Ok, I did not need to know that.” Kun laughs, making a face. “Where is him anyway?” 

Jaehyun points up to two houses down, where the small man is keeping an eye on three kids at the same time. “Doyoung and Yuta are busy setting things up so we’re taking the kids for them.”

“What is Yong dressed as?” Johnny asks, squinting at the sailor outfit and beret. 

“It’s an anime character. Syaoran? Something like that.” Jaehyun shrugs. “I don’t actually know, but he looks really fucking cute.” 

It’s true; once Taeyong notices them and comes closer, dragging the kids with him, Kun almost coos at how adorable he is. He checks Johnny’s costume, looking mildly impressed. “This turned out better than I expected.” 

“I’ll have you know I’ve received a lot of compliments on it, some people even asked to take a picture!” Johnny defends, proud. 

Yangyang and Donghyuck have already noticed the rest of their friend group, so the five of them are all huddled together trying to decide who has more candy. Jeno and Jaemin have decided to match costumes, Jeno dressed as Spiderman and Jaemin as Captain America, but Renjun, always the independent one, looks absolutely adorable in his little Peter Pan set up, all complete with the ears and everything.

They all walk together for a little bit more, at least until they finish off the street. Once all of the kids buckets are overflowing with sweets and it’s getting a little too close to their bedtime, they decide it’s time to take them to Taeyong’s house and wait for the babysitters to arrive. 

Johnny offers to pass by both their places and get some clothes for the kids to sleep in, the remaining parents watching over as the kids start trading candies, making sure they don’t fight and stealing a few here and there. Taeyong orders some pizza but the three college kids get there before the food, and Johnny right after; there’s the entire writing down emergency contact speal, then they bid their kids goodbye, and soon the four are leaving through the door to walk over to the DoYu house. 

Taeyong and Jaehyun are walking a little bit ahead, Jaehyun’s arms over Taeyong’s shoulder as he brings the younger closer, their giggles and conversation echoing through the street. Johnny and Kun are a little bit back, quiet but not awkward, just enjoying the little peace they have before they reach the house that is sure to have a lot of people and a lot of noise. 

They’re shoulder to shoulder, and Kun is reminded of that one time they went out for ice cream, and Kun really wanted to hold Johnny’s hand. He didn’t have the courage back then, but Johnny did, and he figures it’s time for him to start taking some steps of his own. Without time to hesitate, he twines his fingers with the taller man, the older having disposed of the huge gloves saying it’d be impossible to hold drinks otherwise. Johnny immediately tightens the grip, looking at Kun with pleased surprise; the chinese man only beams, dimpled and sweet, and the little tight lipped grin Johnny gives back completely melts him. The older pulls him a little closer, rubbing his thumb on Kun’s backhand, and they don’t let go even after reaching the house. 

Doyoung and Yuta did a great job in decorating their backyard, and it looks the part. There’s already plenty of people there, but not enough that it’s too packed or uncomfortable for Kun. They’re already looking for a table to sit when the hosts finds them, and Kun has to make an effort not to have his jaw slack. 

Yuta has black, long robes, a grey wig on and a permanent apple on his hand; he looks amazing as a witch, complete with the walking stick and everything, and his smile, usually charming and beaming, now looks just a little bit creepy, perfect to finish it off. By his side, Doyoung looks even more impressive: he’s walking tall and straight, completely into character as he’s dressed up with Royal King’s Hanbok, red and gold. 

“Damn.” Jaehyun whistles, and the couple smiles, pleased. 

“Because we know all of you are old and lazy, we saved you a table.” Yuta smiles, pointing a single empty table in the back. “We’ll probably head there at some point so you know, don’t drink all the beer.”

Once they’re all seated down Jaehyun gets them all drinks; beer for himself and Johnny, and a little of the red punch for Taeyong and Kun, who have engaged in conversation about how things are going. Kun has to drop Johnny’s hand to get his drink, but once he settles down it doesn’t take a second for Johnny to place his hand on Kun’s tight, making a shiver go up the chinese man’s spine. 

The punch is great, not too sweet, and Kun finds himself drinking quite a few cups. He’s not drunk, and doesn’t plan on it either, but he’s a little bit tipsy, like everyone else at the table, and when Taeyong and Jaehyun go get them something to eat, Kun turns to Johnny extending his own cup. “You have to taste this, Johnny.” 

The older chuckles, holding his beer. “I’m fine, I don’t want to get my entire mouth red.” 

Kun gasps, putting a hand on his mouth as if he would be able to somehow know. “Is my mouth red? Have I looked ridiculous this entire time?” 

“No, no.” Johnny laughs. “Your mouth is fine, but your lips got stained. It looks good, though.” 

The alcohol in Kun’s system is making him a little too brave, as he slowly licks over his lips, watching the way Johnny’s eyes follow the movement with mirth. “I think I taste like cherry now.” 

Johnny doesn’t get a chance to answer, because Jaehyun and Taeyong are back and they don’t seem to notice the tension at the moment. Kun turns around, smug, and starts making conversation with Jaehyun as he eats a pizza bite; he can hear the breath Johnny lets out, and the hand that was on his thigh move so that Johnny confidently puts his arm around Kun’s shoulders, bringing him a little closer. 

When Yuta finally comes around, he’s clearly a little bit more there than here, as he loudly announces. “You have to do some apple bobbing! C’mon!”

Kun has never apple bobbed before, but when he turns to Johnny, excited, the older only laughs. “Don’t look at me, I’m not getting the whiskers ruined.” 

“Buzzkill.” Taeyong boos. “C’mon, I’ll play with you Kunkun.” 

In the end, all five of them go, the other three only watching as Kun and Taeyong get ready to compete. The rules are clear: whoever gets the most apples in a minute wins, and Kun removes his glasses and robes, handing it to Johnny for him to hold. 

“Ready, Set, Go!” Yuta says, and both the small man dive into the bucket. 

There’s cheering all around them, people watching the small competition, and it’s really fun; Kun can’t see anything with all the water and he probably just swallowed down an entire liter of it, but all he’s focusing on is biting into apples, pulling back and dropping them in the other bucket. He and Taeyong knock heads a few times, laughing, and when Yuta announces the time is up, both pull away to check who won. 

“With 7 to 6 apples, the winner is Kun!” Yuta announces, and the chinese man lets out a small scream, jumping in excitement at having won. Taeyong laughs at him, both jokingly shaking hands to indicate a fair fight. 

Kun’s hair is completely wet, messy, and he’s dripping all over his own clothes; still, when he turns back and beams at Johnny, the older is looking at him like he’s the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen, and it almost causes the chinese to blush at the attention. 

“Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom, I need to fix my hair.” Kun says, running his hand through his wet hair so it doesn't fall on his face. 

“I’ll go with you, to hold your stuff” Johnny says, and both of them are walking silently into the house, looking for the downstair’s bathroom. 

It’s thankfully empty, and Kun doesn’t even have the chance to do anything before Johnny grabs a towel, putting the things down so he can start hand drying the younger’s hair. It’s quiet inside the house, only the background noise of whatever is playing on the backyard, and Kun lets his eyes fall close and be pampered. “You really spoil me, you know.” 

Johnny hums. “Someone has to.” 

He pulls the towel back when he’s finished, combing through Kun’s hair with his finger so it’s not wildly sticking out everywhere. Kun keeps watching him, intoxicated by how close they are and how oddily intimate this is. Johnny catches his eyes eventually, and they just stay there for a few beats, looking at each other. 

Kun smiles, small. “You know, I just won.” 

“I saw it, I was there.” Johnny replies slowly, trying to understand where this is going. 

_It’s now or never_ , Kun thinks. 

“Don’t you think I deserve a treat?”

A look of surprise goes through Johnny’s expression, but it barely lasts a second before he inches closer, a hand finding the curve of Kun’s waist. The chinese’s heart is beating wildly, but he stands on his tiptoes, leaning in, and Johnny leans down to meet him. They stay there for a little bit, noses brushing against each other and breaths mingling, and Kun is about to die because _this is finally happening and-_

And, the noise of a ringtone plays in the bathroom, startling the two into backing away a little bit. Johnny doesn’t let go of Kun’s waist, but the chinese know it’s his phone with how it’s vibrating on his leg, and he looks at the older, apologetic. “Sorry, I’ll just-”

He’s ready to decline the call before he sees the name on the screen. It’s from one of the babysitters looking after the kids, and he immediately freezes, picking up immediately. “Hey, I’m here!” 

“Sorry to bother Mr. Qian, but Yangyang’s asking for you.” The boy says, apologetic. “I think he ate a little bit too much candy and now he has a tummy ache. He wants to go home.” 

Kun sighs, relieved it's not something more serious but frustrated that he needs to leave. He lets his head hit Johnny’s chest, the older’s arms comfortable around him as he says into the phone. “No, it’s alright. Tell him I’m coming to pick him up.” 

Once he hangs up Johnny’s arms immediately bring him even closer, turning whatever was happening into a hug instead. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, but I have to pick Yangie up.” Kun sighs. 

“Do you want me to come with?” Johnny asks, letting his left cheek hit the top on Kun’s head. 

“No, you stay, enjoy the party.” Kun says. “Your costume is too good to be retired this early.” 

Johnny chuckles. “Alright, I’ll bring you to the door at least”. 

Kun doesn’t want to pull away, leave the little bubble they were in, but he knows he has to say goodbye to the rest of their friends, so they disentangle. Johnny doesn’t give him a second before he grabs his hand though, and Kun won’t complain, craving for the point of contact too. 

Kun receives a bunch of whines and boos about leaving early, but everyone understands when he explains the reason. He bids them all goodbye, Doyoung shoving one less cupcake on his hand for the “trip”, and Johnny walks him all the way to the curb. 

It’s not awkward between the two, in fact, it’s a lot more comfortable and nice than Kun would’ve expected. Instead, there’s a feeling of slight frustration, knowing what could’ve happened; when they look at each other in the eyes to say bye, Kun is the first one to crack up at the ridiculousness of the entire situation, and Johnny soon follows. 

“Text me when you’re home, ok?” Johnny asks, pulling him into one last hug and leaving a long kiss on his temple. 

“Alright, you too”. Kun says back, narrowing his eyes when he pulls away. “Don’t have too much fun without me.” 

Johnny winks, unabashed. “Never.”

Kun wakes up unnaturally late the next morning, not completely hungover but still a little tired from the night before. He grabs at his phone and sees it’s already 11:15am, making him groan at the thought that he needs to get up and start fixing up something for lunch. 

His phone has been vibrating with texts, the reason he woke up in the first place, and there’s no surprise when he sees where most of them are from. 

**  
Johnkun and company  
** _6 members  
  
_

**doyoung  
****[10:45am]  
**so  
who wants to come over and help cleaning up?   
i’ll pay with leftover food 

**nayuta  
****[10:47am]  
**pls come  
my body is beat and i need help 

**jaehyun  
****[10:49am]  
**we can go  
we’ll bring the kids, they just woke up

 **johnny** **🐻  
****[10:50am]  
**i’ll go too  
don’t feel like cooking rn

 **taeyong  
****[10:50am]  
**is kun still in bed? 

**johnny** **🐻  
****[10:51am]  
**probably  
he didn’t see the text i sent him last night either

 **nayuta  
****[10:52am]  
**was it a nude?

 **johnny** **🐻  
****[10:53am]  
**motion to kick yuta out of the group  
all in favor say ay  
ay

 **taeyong  
****[10:53am]  
**ay

 **doyoung  
****[10:54am]  
**nay  
sorry, the johnny hating club always has to side against you  
it’s on the rule book

 **jaehyun  
****[10:55am]  
**nay  
  


Kun snorts, and checks to see what Johnny sent him anyway.  
  


**Johnny** **🐻  
****[01:26am]  
**kunnie <3  
just got home  
am going to bed  
thank you for tonight  
have nice dreams <3  
  


It’s simple but it makes Kun’s heart flutter, that Johnny remembered he promised to text him. Now that all the alcohol is gone, Kun is left with the nerves of what happened last night, and the worry of where they’ll go from there. He doesn’t regret anything, but there’s a part of him a little worried of what they’ll say and act around each other now that they’ve almost taken that step. 

He goes back to the group thread, quickly typing an answer. 

**me  
****[11:18am]  
**sorry, just woke up  
i’ll check if Yangie’s feeling better  
  


Kun drags himself out of bed, not bothering with washing up before going across the hall to Yangyang’s room, finding it empty. He’s not surprised the kid is already up, and he immediately goes to the living room, where the boy is watching cartoons. 

“Hey, Yangie. Are you feeling any better little bud?”

The previous night, Kun had to make some homemade tea for Yangyang to drink, and even so it took awhile for the younger to feel better enough to fall asleep. This morning though, the boy smiles wildly, nodding at his baba. 

“Yeah! I’m hungry, though.” He pouts. 

“That’s good baobei, but now you know not to eat all you candy too quickly.” Kun warns, the boy nodding. “It’s a little late for breakfast so go up and get dressed, we’re going over to Uncle Doyoung’s for lunch.” 

The boy lights up at the idea of seeing Jeno and Renjun, and immediately runs off to his bedroom. Kun is a little slower, brushing his teeth and washing his face before putting on some more comfortable clothes, no longer bothered to dress up because those people are almost family, anyway. 

It’s a little cold when they make the walk to the house, and the closer they get, the more nervous Kun becomes about seeing Johnny. He’s not sure what reaction he’s expecting, not sure if he wants a conversation to happen or not, because every alternative makes butterflies fly wildly in his stomach. 

He can see everyone in the backyard when Kun starts approaching the house, taking things down and grabbing things off the ground. Yangyang runs off through the front door, no doubt going to find his friends, but Kun goes to where the adults are. 

Yuta is the first one that notices him. “Good morning, sleeping beauty! You’ve escaped most of the work.” 

Kun shrugs. “Well, I left before most of it was made anyway.” 

He greets everyone, different levels of hungover all around, but he doesn’t see Johnny. Taeyong must notice him looking, because he answers before Kun asks. “Johnny is helping Doyoung with the dishes, you can go if you want.” 

Kun doesn’t feel ready to face him just yet, so he grabs a plastic bag instead. “No, I’ll help out here first.” 

It doesn’t take long for the backyard to turn pristine, Yuta right when he said most of the work was already done. His friends tell all sorts of stories from the previous night, especially from after Kun left, and he is properly amused and distracted. He only remembers the situation at hand when he’s carrying trash bags out, and suddenly a bigger figure appears beside him, taking a bag from his right hand. 

Johnny smiles at him. “Good morning, did you sleep well?”

“I could’ve carried that, you know.” Kun throws him a look. “But yes, I slept like the dead. I figured you had fun, with how late you went home?” 

“You would think that,” Johnny rolls his eyes, both of them putting the trash down. “But I had to babysit Taeyong and Jaehyun, who decided to drink all of your drinks in your honor.” 

Kun laughs at that, and they start walking back to get inside the house. “Oh my god, did they throw up or something?”

“No, not to that level.” Johnny grins. “But Jaehyun wanted to walk up to Karen’s house and fight her for the comment she made about Taeyong’s cookies during Bake Sale.” 

They keep talking even after they’re inside, and Doyoung is already setting the assortments of leftovers from last night on the table for the most random, unhealthy lunch ever. Neither of them bring up what happened last night, but it’s not awkward at all; Johnny keeps talking and cracking jokes as he always does, and Kun feels comfortable with him. All in all, it’d be like nothing happened, where it not for the fact that it’s clear both of them are keeping some sort of physical distance, much less skinship than usual. 

They get involved in the conversation at the table though, and there’s not much time for them to focus on each other. Taeyong is telling them about how he’s planning on expanding, opening the bakery’s first filial store, and everyone’s excited for him, even if it seems like a huge investment and a lot of work. There’s also the unavoidable topic of what’s everyone’s doing for Thanksgiving; Johnny is going up to Chicago, and so are Taeyong and Jaehyun. Yuta and Doyoung aren’t sure, but they think probably to Doyoung’s parents in New Jersey. Kun, like always, is sending Yangyang to spend it with his Dad, and then going to New York to spend it with Ten, like he has done every year since the divorce, both being each other’s only family closeby. 

They all eventually move to the couch, and Doyoung picks a movie for them to watch. The kids are all upstairs, playing, and it’s impressive how much energy they still have, especially when all the adults want is to have a quiet, nice afternoon. 

Kun doesn't sit next to Johnny, instead picking the couch with Taeyong and Jaehyun because there’s a little more space there. They all settle down to watch, and soon enough all they can hear in the living room is the sound of the conversations on the TV. 

Kun watches as slowly, one by one, his friends fall asleep to the movie. By the halfway point only himself, Johnny and Taeyong are still awake, and the Chicago man has gotten up five minutes ago and haven’t been back since.

Kun feels a push on his shoulder, and when he looks to his left, Taeyong is looking at him like he’s the dumbest person on earth. “Go! Talk to him!” He aggressively whispers. 

Kun’s chest is tight with nerves again, but he knows there’s no point in avoiding this, so he gets up and follows where Johnny went before. When he finds the older, he’s leaning over the kitchen island, looking at his laptop. 

“Hey.” Kun says softly, as not to startle him. “What are you doing? Work?”

Johnny looks up, giving the chinese a small, private smile. “No, I’m just looking at some pictures.”

Kun hums, and stands next to Johnny, trying to see as well. He’s a little surprised when he notices the older is looking at the pictures of last night, specifically the one of their kids in costume, before they left to trick or treat. 

“Can I see as well?” Kun asks softly. Johnny hums, stepping away so that Kun can take over the computer. 

Kun feels the older watching as he starts going through the pictures. At first it’s all photos taken last night, some from when they were on the street, many at the party. There’s a lot of pictures of their friends, and Kun is featured in many as well, which makes him blush just a little bit, especially the ones where it’s just him. 

But as he keeps going through them, and Johnny doesn’t stop him, the pictures start becoming more varied. He realizes the folder has all kinds of images, from months to weeks ago. There’s birthday parties, get-togethers, movie nights, even the infamous sports day. There’s a lot of Donghyuck, a lot of Johnny with his kid as well, but there’s almost as many of Yangyang, and Kun too. He doesn’t even remember Johnny taking half of those pics, and he can’t avoid getting a little emotional as he sees them, remembering all of their small moments that Johnny registered as the most precious of memories. 

There’s one picture though, that makes Kun stop, getting just a bit choked up. It’s Kun, on his couch, and his eyes are closed, asleep. In his lap, there’s Yangyang and Donghyuck, their heads on his legs, and they’re both adorably asleep as well, curled into Kun. It’s such an intimate, domestic, soft picture, and it’s filled with nothing but pure, bare _love_. Suddenly, Kun feels a little silly for ever thinking that Johnny wouldn’t want anything serious, that they wouldn’t be able to form their little family; looking at that picture, Kun finally realises that they already have. 

He rubs his hands through his cheeks, swiping at the tears there, and once he turns around Johnny is looking at him, worried. He’s about to say something when Kun interrupts him. 

“Johnny, take me out tonight.” 

The older’s mouth closes, surprised. Kun can see the cogs turning on his head, and there’s a mixture of confusion and hope in his voice when he asks. “Out as in…”

“A date.” Kun smiles, heart beating out of his chest. “Just the two of us.”

“Oh.” Johnny says, and then a second later, he beams, the brighter he’s ever done before. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Kun hugs him, because it feels like the right thing to do at the moment, and Johnny is laughing, swaying them side to side a little. “Oh my god, I can’t believe this is finally happening.” 

Kun laughs, too, elated. “I can’t believe it either. I feel a little silly for not having asked before.” 

“Well, at least you did.” Johnny sighs. “I was still trying to figure out how to bring up last night without dying on the spot.” 

At that, Kun moves his hands to Johnny’s shoulder, still grinning as he looks at the beautiful man in front of him. He feels brave, so he says, softly. “Hey. I love you.” 

Johnny's breath hitches, surprised, and without missing a beat, he leans in and captures Kun’s lips in a soft kiss. 

It’s not much, just lips softly moving against each other, but the feeling of Johnny on him makes Kun’s mind go completely blank, nothing but _Johnny_ going through every cell of his body. The older kisses him tenderly, careful, but there’s determination in the way he pushes his lips against Kun’s, trying to whisper through every motion all the words he never got to say. 

It’s Kun who tightens his arm around Johnny’s neck, bringing him even closer, and the kiss escalates; he swipes his tongue over the older’s bottom lip, and soon enough the kiss becomes open mouthed and hot, passion in the way their tongues meet and Kun tries to discover every single spot on Johnny’s mouth. His entire body wants Johnny, wants to mold into the older until they share the same space, and it’s intoxicating; he hasn’t felt so much _need_ for someone in years, and it drives him a little crazy that, finally, _finally_ he has the man of his dreams holding him like this, fingers digging into the skin of his waist. 

Johnny presses him against the counter, and Kun lets out a small whimper, finding himself leaning back against it, Johnny’s much bigger body pushing him as he takes control over the kiss, turns Kun slowly into putty on his hold. Like everything Johnny does, he kisses Kun with adoration, patient and tender but still intense, like he doesn’t ever want to let go. 

“Oh my God, not in my kitchen!” Doyoung screams from the doorframe, horrified at the image. Kun startles but Johnny doesn’t stop kissing him immediately, instead slowing it down carefully, pulling away with a peck at the end. Kun knows he’s blushing hard, embarrassed at being caught in this situation, so he buries his head on the older’s chest. 

“As if I haven’t seen you and Yuta do worse in my house, Doie.” Johnny says, sounding a little breathless. 

“God, the only reason I’m not kicking you out right now is because this is long fucking overdue. But have some decency before one of the kids see you!” Doyoung scolds. 

“Sorry, Doie.” Kun says from his spot in Johnny’s arms, and he feels the older shake with a small giggle. 

When Doyoung has left the kitchen, no doubt going to tell everyone else what he just witnessed, Johnny leans in again, this time leaving small kisses all over Kun’s face and neck, finishing with a longer, meaningful press on his lips. Their gazes meet afterwards, looking into each other’s eyes, and Kun isn’t sure he’s ever felt this light in his entire life. 

“Date tonight, then?” Johnny asks, looking so silly with all the giddiness. “By the way, I love you too.” 

Kun can’t help but laugh at that, and he’s never felt more glad for all the twists and turns that brought him here, to Johnny Seo, the love of his life. 

“Yeah. Tonight.” 

_And it's not just where you lay your head  
_ _It's not just where you make your bed  
_ _As long as we're together_  
_Does it matter where we go?  
_ _Home_

**Author's Note:**

> if you think i refused to let johnny kiss someone dressed as tony the tyger, you're absolutely right.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/seokuns)   
>  [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/johnkun)


End file.
